


Cabin 41

by dolphin_at_the_disco



Category: Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, Panic! at the Disco
Genre: Alternate Universe - Summer Camp, Archery, Eventual Smut, Fluff, M/M, POV Alternating, POV First Person, Pranks and Practical Jokes, Rock climbing, Swimming, Tennis, arts and crafts, brendon is really awkward, everyone sucks at tennis, im sorry, pete gets poison ivy, pete shouldn't have an air horn, random smutty references, ryan vaguely hates brendon for no reason, this is sorta crap
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-12
Updated: 2017-06-28
Packaged: 2018-11-13 02:54:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 36,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11175510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dolphin_at_the_disco/pseuds/dolphin_at_the_disco
Summary: Basically it's Panic! in a cabin at camp with Pete and Mikey as their counsellors. This is my first fanfic and it'll probably be crap. I'm sorry in advance for horrible characterization. I tried to update daily, but failed horribly. I will probably update sporadically, but I've been really busy.





	1. Day 1

Mikey’s PoV

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” I yell as Pete doubles over in laughter. “If I have to deal with this all summer I’m seriously gonna fucking kill you.” I attempt to stand up, but of course I have to be tangled up in my fucking sleeping bag and I I just end up falling flat on my face. Pete is wheezing from laughing so hard and I can’t help but hope he’ll just pass out or something and leave me in peace.

“If you’re gonna be a counselor, then you have to get used to getting up early.” The clock behind him reads 4:03. I might not have actually read through the instructions, but I’m still pretty sure that it said nothing about taking four hours to get ready for breakfast. I just wanted to sleep in for one last time before all the campers got here, but no, I had to deal with Pete blasting a fucking air horn in my ear at four o’clock in the fucking morning. It would be a miracle if I didn’t kill him in the next week, let alone the next two and a half months.

“You’re an asshole, you know that,” I quip. “I could have gotten seriously hurt.” Yeah, maybe I’m making a big deal out of nothing, but I sleep on the top bunk, which is probably like six and a half feet off of the concrete floor. I could’ve cracked my head open. Of course, it was just my luck I had to fall and land on my fucking ass, which already hurt from certain, uh, activities we had been doing last night. It was probably gonna leave a massive bruise that I will definitely use to make Pete feel like crap for being the cause of. I better get some fucking sympathy cuddles out of this.

“Aw, does wittle Mikey need me to kiss him better,” Pete taunts in a baby voice. Yeah, that’s definitely not happening right now. I’m going back to bed. Maybe later though.

“You wish,” I reply quickly. I stand up (successfully this time) and manage to clamber back up to my bunk, dragging my sleeping bag with me and ignoring my protesting ass.

“You know, we could continue where we left off last night,” he suggests hopefully. There is no chance in hell we are having sex right now. Or for the next week, for that matter. He woke me up hours before it was in any way necessary and made me land on my ass just hours after fucking me so roughly that I probably wouldn’t have been able to walk right today anyways. I am going back to bed and making him wait on me hand and foot all day.

“I’m going back to bed. When I wake up you better have breakfast ready for me with a side of painkillers. If you want to have sex ever again you’re gonna be my servant for the rest of the day.” 

“Anything else, your highness?” he replies sarcastically.

“Yeah, just one more thing. Destroy that fucking air horn you piece of shit!” I muffle a giggle with my pillow. Maybe he’ll finally let me sleep in peace.

Pete’s PoV

Okay, maybe that was a shitty thing to do, but pranks were part of the job. I was junior counsellor last year and Ray was a total asshole to me. I didn’t really intend for him to fall out of bed and land on his ass, it just sort of happened. It’s not my fault he’s on the top bunk. (Oh, wait, it sorta is since I chose the bottom one…) Never mind, that was still a shitty thing to do. Well, he’s gonna make me pay the price for that, I guess. It really was some great sex last night, why did I have to go and ruin it. Well, I can make it up to him today. The campers will probably get here at noon (because parents never listen to the “drop off is from 1-3”), and I’ll deal with all the parents and stuff so he can just relax. Yeah, that’s a great idea.

I wonder how long it’ll be before…it’s only quarter after four. This is gonna be a long day. It’s my own fault of course, but I still wanna wake Mikey up so I’ll have someone to talk to. Is he even asleep? If I poke him will it piss him off? Probably. He’s probably asleep because if he was awake I’m sure he’d be able to feel me staring at him. He always gets pissed at me for staring at him. Half the time I’m zoned out and thinking about something completely different, but he still gets pissed at me. I guess that’s sorta what I’m doing right now, but he’s asleep, so I can get away with it. I wish I had x-ray vision so I could see his hot ass through the lumpy sleeping bag. Does x-ray vision come with night vision, because it’s almost impossible to see the lumpy sleeping bag with the dim light of my crappy lantern, and I'm pretty sure it'd be even darker underneath it. Maybe I should wake Mikey up and ask him. No, that’s a stupid idea, he’d get even more pissed at me. 

Right, operation make Mikey not pissed at me. Step one: throw away air horn. But should I really just throw it away, or should I have some fun first. I mean, there’s that one counsellor that I absolutely hate, I could go wake him up right now. I should probably film it. I want to watch Calvin scream like a little girl.

I wonder if I should do anything more than just the air horn. Like how can I take this to the next level. I could ask Mikey, but pissing him off any more than he already is probably isn’t in my best interest, so I’ll let him sleep. Should I google it? I’d probably just end up wasting all my data on youtube videos meant for twelve year olds. Wait, I have unlimited data. 

“50 Best Pranks for Summer Camp.” Perfect. I mean, I doubt a single thing on this is worth doing, but I’m still gonna read the whole thing and be disappointed.

The only thing on there that was even funny was put laxatives in their drink and it’s not like I brought any fucking laxatives to camp. Who the fuck brings laxatives to a summer camp. Half of those pranks wouldn’t even work. That’s about five minutes of my life I’ll never get back. I give up. I’ll just blow the stupid air horn in his fucking ear and then walk away. It would probably be useful if I knew what cabin he was in though.

Where, oh where is Calvin. His last name rhymes with gay. Why would I even think that’s an insult. I’m gay. And my boyfriend’s last name also rhymes with gay. He doesn’t deserve for his last name to rhyme with Way. Why am I even thinking about this. I’m pretty sure I still have the paper that lists everyone’s cabin assignments somewhere in one of my bags. But would it wake Mikey up if I go digging through them? And what’s up with my really long inner monologue in the middle of the night? It’s too quiet so all I have to listen to are my own stupid thoughts. I could text someone. Oh wait, dumbass, it’s not even 4:30 in the morning. No one is fucking awake, and if you wake them up they’re not gonna want to talk to you. Duh. So I need to wake up someone I hate. Like Calvin. I should go wake him up. That’s what I was already doing. I should sleep more. Wait, why am I awake? Oh, that’s right, I set an alarm for four so I could annoy the shit out of my boyfriend. I’m an asshole. I don’t care.

So the paper is probably in my backpack, so I should check that first. So I get my lazy ass off of the bunk to go look underneath. I grab my backpack, except it doesn’t look like my backpack. I thought mine was red, but this one is blue/grey. Is it my eyes, or is there something wrong with this shitty lantern from Five Below. Also, I’m pretty sure mine isn’t monogrammed, and last time I checked my initials weren’t GAW. Maybe it’s Mikey’s backpack. No, it couldn’t be his, those aren’t his initials either. But then whose is it. I’m not gonna wake Mikey up right now, but I’ll ask him in the morning. I hope they’re not his ex’s or something.

Okay, back to looking for my backpack. Why am I looking for my backpack? Right, the paper, pranking Calvin, etc. I need coffee. I see an orange backpack, but I thought mine was red. Other than the color seeming off it looks like mine. I was certain that my backpack was red though. Then again, my lantern is shit, so it probably is red. Okay, back to task on hand. I wonder if this is what it’s like to have ADHD. I mean, it’s probably just sleep deprivation, but I’m pretty sure if I had ADHD it’d probably feel something like this. Anyways, I unzip the backpack and find a bunch of folders and books. I can’t remember what folder I put it in, but I think they’re labeled. 

I think I’ll try the green one labeled ‘camp schedules’ since the rest are all for college. Meal plans, break schedules, kitchen duties, and cabin assignments. Boys cabins are odd numbers, girls are even, I already knew that, so did everyone. Pretty much all the counsellors have been going here since they were ten, so half the information they gave us was completely unnecessary. Cabin 11: Gage M., Calvin M. Did they give out cabin assignments in alphabetical order or something? Okay, time to fuck with Kevin (and Gage). Of course, just as I walk out the door I realize I forgot the air horn. So I go back and get it. Then I exit the door and turn left. As I’m passing Cabin 43 I realize I should’ve turned right. So, feeling like an idiot I turn right. 

It’s really fucking cold out here, I should've brought a jacket. Or at least worn a long-sleeved shirt. Or at least a shirt. But I was too hot and sweaty to put one on last night. I’m only wearing boxers and its probably like 50 degrees. I should be almost at the cabin by now. Wait, that’s Cabin 7. Seriously, why am I so stupid. I backtrack to Cabin 11, debating on how I’m gonna do this. Well, I should probably make sure that this is actually Cabin 11, because I don’t know if I can really trust the faint moonlight. So I walk up to the sign and us my phone as a flashlight. Definitely Cabin 11. I’m pretty sure that Cabin 11 houses kids about eleven or twelve, can’t wait to see Kevin get what he deserves, babysitting a bunch of twelve year olds all day every day.

So the counsellors bed is always the one closest to the door. I don’t know if he’s on the top or bottom, but last time I saw him (yesterday) he had a man bun and I’m pretty sure Gage has a buzz cut so it shouldn’t be to hard to figure out. They only closed the screen door, so I can see the pink fairy lights they’re using as night lights. What a bunch of losers. (Yes, I know, I dyed my hair pink once. I never said I wasn’t a loser. But I wasn’t a loser. I wore it with style. And I don’t need a fucking night light to sleep.) I carefully open the screen door, which creaks slightly, but I don’t think they can here it over the blasting fan. Calvin is definitely the guy on top (not that he’d top or anything, from my experience tops prefer the bottom bunk). I mean, ridiculous hair and a lime green sleeping bag, has to be him. I carefully creep around to the other side, raise the air horn his head, and squeeze. 

Immediately he rolls away from the noise and falls out of bed. Gage is spitting expletives from below. I howl with laughter and run out the door and all the way back to my own cabin. Well, I enter Cabin 39 first, but then I’m like, “Where the fuck is Mikey and what is a guy doing in my bed,” before I realize, “Oh, fuck, wrong cabin.” When I finally get back to my own cabin I realize I forgot to film it. Oh well, it was funny anyways.

I wonder what time it is now. It’s 4:37 am. I can’t wake Mikey up until at least eight, and I probably shouldn’t until nine. What am I gonna do in the meantime. I could go back to sleep, but I’m not at all tired. I text Patrick “I’m bored,” but then realize that it’s actually earlier in Chicago than it is here. So he’s probably asleep. Well, what am I gonna do? I’m really bored.

I could go on tumblr. I bet if I posted anything some other counsellor would get pissed at me because there’s a no internet policy. I actually don’t know if anyone here other than Mikey would know it was my tumblr. I doubt anyone willing to give up their phone for an entire summer would have a tumblr. I’m only here for Mikey. I wonder if any of the campers will have a tumblr. I’m gonna get so behind on memes this summer. Like last summer I missed the whole Harambe thing. I really hope no one brings any of those fucking fight spinners. I mean, they were cool when just a few people had them, but now they’re just stupid. I feel bad for any kid who actually has ADHD but can’t use them in class now because all their fucking classmates had to get them banned. They banned them at my school the first time some kid showed up with one. Of course, everyone ignored that until one kid actually got suspended over it. He was selling them during class, and I think he actually made a few hundred bucks off of it. How you make a few hundred bucks selling crappy toys is beyond me. Why would anyone even want to buy one? I’m probably being a hypocrite since I bought one from that guy. He made me pay ten bucks. I saw them at a store a week later for three. Okay, maybe the real reason I hate them is because I feel cheated, but still, they’re crap. And if I go on tumblr all I’m gonna see is that crap, so I’m just gonna sit here and try to come up with something better to do.

I would try to watch Netflix, but the connection is so bad I would probably kill myself before it loaded. I knew I should’ve watched Supernatural season twelve before I left. I have off every Friday, maybe I could try to catch up then. I really don’t want to wait; maybe if I climb up on top of one of the other bunks I can get a better connection. My phone has two bars. They’re not actually bars, they’re dots. Even if I had wifi it would be wavy lines, not bars. Why does everyone say bars. I’d google it, but I have no idea how to word that. Maybe Androids have bars or something. I don’t know and I don’t know why I would care. I just want to pass the time, but I’ve been staring at the Netflix loading screen for like two minutes and nothing has happened. I just want to watch some tv, is that too much to ask for. Great, it says I don’t have a connection, time to resist the urge to throw my phone across the room because this job does not pay me enough to buy a replacement.

Fuck this, I’m gonna play Flappy Birds. That sounds really stupid, but I have reached the level of boredom in which I am desperate. I only got one fucking point before dying. My high score is 152; how the fuck is this so hard! This game is fucking impossible! 

After playing that stupid app for about fifteen minutes and getting no higher than a seven (the second highest was a four, what the fuck) I have decided to give up. I can’t do this anymore. I have lost my will to live. It is 4:52 am and there is nothing else in this entire fucking camp to hold my interest. I contemplate my entire existence as I stare blankly at my phone’s home screen. There are no apps to interest me. Well, the background is a fairly sexy picture of Mikey, but I’ve seen it so many times it fails to interest me. I keep meaning to ask him where he got the pink lingerie, but I always forget when I have the chance. I wonder if he brought it to camp…probably not. He forgot pretty much everything. We had to drive to nearest Walmart just to get him some underwear, I doubt he brought any lingerie.

Just as I’m about to lose all hope, I remember the videos app. Thank god for those movies that come with a digital download code. Now have 109 minutes of Deadpool to look forward to. I mean, if Mikey doesn’t want to talk to me right now, at least Ryan Reynolds is one sexy motherfucker.

Okay, so it’s about a quarter to seven now. Unfortunately, I only have the one movie on my phone since I had to delete the other ones to conserve space. So what am I gonna do for the next two hours? Maybe I should get the stuff Mikey asked for.

What did he want again? I think it was breakfast in bed. I’m pretty sure there was something else. Yeah, he wanted me to get rid of the air horn. Two hours is a bit too long to spend making breakfast, so maybe I’ll pick some of the flowers by the woods. That’s a nice gesture, right? Does Mikey even like flowers? I have no idea. What if he’s allergic? He probably won’t be. What if I’m allergic? I mean, I’d probably already know that, but what if. You know, I could’ve sent all that time making a massive list of “what if” questions instead of rewatching a movie I’ve probably seen over fifty times, but it’s cool either way.

Just as I walk to the door I’m assaulted by a cool breeze. Except that it doesn’t just feel like a cool breeze, it feels like a gust of subzero wind from Antarctica. I need to put some fucking clothes on. I’m too lazy to really get dressed, so I just put on some sweats and a hoodie. I’m also gonna steal Mikey’s crocs. Yeah, I made fun of him for them, but they’re actually rather useful because the grass is covered in dew and it’s really muddy over by the woods. So I trek over to the woods and pick out some beautiful purple wildflowers. It starts to get a bit warmer, so I take off the hoodie and decide to bask in the sun. That doesn’t last long since the ground is still all dewey and gross. Great, my back is covered in weird pieces of grass. I smear it on my hoodie and head back to the cabins.

I stick the flowers in my water bottle since I conveniently forgot to get anything to put them in. Then I decide to head over to the showers. I still feel pretty gross after lying in the grass. I think they moved it yesterday, which explains why so much of it got stuck to my back. I only brought one pair of sweats too, so now I have to do laundry. I can’t stand laundry one bit. Fuck. Well, guess I better steal Mikey’s shampoo since I forgot to bring any for the eleventh year in a row. That was one of the few things he actually remembered to bring, although we still probably should've gotten more at Walmart.

Why does he have floral scented shampoo? Not that I have anything against it, in fact I love it, but why. I mean, I wouldn’t choose it for myself, but it’s great on him. It’s a bit too late for me to do anything about it since I’m already working it through my hair, but I don’t know if he’s gonna like me stealing his shampoo. I stole his razor once and he yelled at me for twenty minutes. I guess I probably shouldn’t have shaved my balls with it, but he’s the one who told me to shave them in the first place. That makes it his fault, right. Which reminds me that I also forgot to bring a razor. Is there anything I actually brought?

I bought a hair straightener. I didn’t bring a hairdryer, or a hairbrush, but I brought a hair straightener. It works wonders on my hair, but it doesn’t do a thing for my sexuality. Using it on wet, tangled hair is probably a bad idea, so I decide to forego the straightening for now. And the shaving, Mikey’s gonna be pissed. Well, he either has to lend me his razor or deal with the stubble, it’s his problem now. 

After quickly getting dressed in some black skinny jeans and a black t-shirt I will definitely regret since I have to spend the whole day in the sun, I head over to the kitchen. Until the campers arrive it’s everyone for themselves in the kitchen. Since I’m early I have a selection of the ‘bug juice’ from which to choose from. Why would anyone call it bug juice, I just find that stupid. I get myself a glass of OJ and eat a bowl of Lucky Charms without the milk because I’m too lazy. 

Shit! I was supposed to take those meds before eating. Well, it’s not my fault I always forget since even the counsellors have to turn all medications in to the nurse. After I take my own II remember I’m supposed to get painkillers for Mikey. So I tell the nurse I have a headache and ask for some Advil, trying to see if there are any meds with his name on them so I can save him the trip. I see a plastic bag that says Michael W. on it and steal it while the nurses trying to find the painkillers. I hope it’s his, because I really have no idea if there’s another Michael W. here. I know there are two other counsellors named Mike, but I have no idea what their last name’s are. I quickly pretend to take the pills and then head back to the dining hall to make Mikey breakfast.

Everyone loves pancakes, right? Well, I know Mikey hates the crappy ones they make here with mix from a bottle, but I’m making them from scratch using my mother’s recipe. (Well, it’s somebody’s mother’s recipe that they decided to post online, but that’s good enough for me.) Who wouldn’t love these nice, buttery pancakes that their boyfriend made with love. “He better fucking love them,” I mutter while sucking on the thumb I accidentally brushed against the pan. I rush over to the sink, trying to soothe my blistering finger in the cool water. 

I hear another counsellor walk in. She heads over to the stove then turns to me and says, “Your pancakes are burning.” Fuck. I left them on the stove. I look over the blackened mess and sigh. They’re trash. Well, I made a large batch, so there’s still plenty of batter left. I just need to not burn myself this time. I end up with six large pancakes stacked with butter and syrup. I add a few berries for the look, place the plate onto a tray, put a glass of apple juice on the side, grab some silverware, and wonder if I’m forgetting anything. I can’t think of anything, so I carefully head back to the cabins with the tray of food.

I almost spilled the apple juice about thirty times, but I didn’t. Everything is perfectly fine until I get to the door and realize I don’t know how to open it without spilling anything. I don’t really I have a choice, I have to try. After what seems like hours of trying to open the door with my foot, I finally manage to wedge it open enough to stick my shoulder inside. Mikey’s still asleep, looking adorable with his hair all over his face. There isn’t really anywhere to put the tray down since the table is covered with junk to disguise the mini fridge we shouldn’t have. I guess I’ll just have to wake him up and then hand him the tray.

Mikey’s PoV

I was having a great dream about unicorns, but then Spiderman scared them all away. For some reason Spiderman looked sorta like Pete. I would generally be pissed at Pete for scaring away the unicorns, but he smelled like pancakes. I leant in to kiss him, but suddenly he wasn’t there anymore.

The ceiling is blurry and Pete is singing the Spiderman theme song horribly out of tune. That would seem more like a nightmare, but it still smells like pancakes. I look at the blurry figure with horrible singing voice and see a tray with food. He actually brought me breakfast. Judging by the smell it should be pancakes, but I’m not gonna trust that until I have my glasses. I hope he actually made pancakes and didn’t just use the crappy ready-to-go mix.

“Can I have my glasses?” I ask blearily. I don’t trust Pete’s cooking unless I can see it.

“What should I do with the tray? There’s nowhere to put it”

“Just put it on one of the empty bunks.” He lays it on a bunk before reaching for something behind are bunk. I probably put my glasses on the window ledge last night. He hands me my glasses. I put them on and watch him come into focus. Then I glance over to the tray. The pancakes look delicious with syrup dripping down the sides and carefully arranged berries. He probably spent a lot of time arranging them just right. I doubt they’re still warm, but at least the gesture is there. I’m about to climb out of bed when he stops me.

“No, stay in bed. I put it on a tray so you wouldn’t have to get up.” It really is a nice gesture, but I think he’s too short to give me the tray. Plus, it’d be rather awkward to eat in a bed where I can’t even sit up because of the ceiling.

“I can’t even sit up without banging my head on the ceiling. If you want I could eat it in your bed.” He pauses to consider it before finally muttering an “okay” as if in defeat. Getting out of my bunk proves easier said than done as my ass protests every rung. He better have gotten those painkillers. He overs around me looking like he wants to help, but isn’t sure how to. I lay on his bed and he immediately goes over to the other bunk to grab a glass of apple juice and then offers me a plastic bag with two Advil and my allergy medication.

“How did you even get that?” I’m pretty sure there are rules that prevent medications from leaving the nurse’s office, and just because we’re counsellors doesn’t mean we can break them. 

“I grabbed it when she wasn’t looking. They’re yours, right, I wasn’t sure”

“You grabbed meds for me when you didn’t even know if they were mine?”

“Well, I grabbed them and them remembered that there were other Michaels, but by then it was a little too late to put them back without getting caught.”

“You’re an idiot, you know that.”

“I’m your idiot.”

“I’m not taking responsibility for you.”

“Oh come on, Mikey, I’m not that stupid.”

“Yes, you are. You are very, very stupid, but I still love.”

“You’re sweet, I don’t deserve you.”

“Damn right you don’t.”

“Hey!”

“What? You said it yourself.”

“I made you pancakes.”

“Yeah, and those pancakes are probably stop cold by now.”

“We shall see about that.” He hands me the platter, and I got to hand it to him, they look absolutely delicious. He’s just standing there, waiting for me to take bite, which is a bit off-putting, but I ignore it, carefully cutting off a slice. I bite into it, experiencing a surprisingly fluffy and warm, perfect bite coated with butter and sugary syrup. It tastes a bit like heaven. This is better than any dream about unicorns. I close my eyes and take another blissful bite. I might be slightly exaggerating about these pancakes, but Pete took the time to make them, so I’m gonna appreciate them.

“Wait, did you take the pills?” he asks, looking worried. Why on earth would he be worried. They’re just allergy meds and the painkillers. 

“Calm down, my butt isn’t gonna fall out in the next twenty seconds and I don’t need my allergy meds before I go outside.” I take the pills, washing them down with some apple juice. “Happy now?” I ask sarcastically.

“I didn’t know what that pill was for. For all I knew you could’ve had a heart condition.” I know he’s being a bit overdramatic, but honestly it’s sorta cute that he cares. At the same time, it’s also a bit annoying. There is a very fine line between annoying and adorable, and most of the time Pete literally sits right on that line.

“Well, you don’t have to worry, I’m fine. Although if you did want to help out you could try to keep the door closed most of the time and the fan pointing away from me.” Pete immediately leaps to his feet, slams the door shut and aims the fan at the other side of the room. It looked like he actually came pretty close to getting his finger caught in the fan. I can deal with some watery eyes and a few sneezes, but I’d rather my boyfriend keep all of his digits. “It’s just hay fever, it’s not like I’m gonna stop breathing. Calm the fuck down and be careful around that fucking fan.” I really hate that design, it’s too open. Children go to this camp, they could get hurt. Granted it is above the door in every cabin, so any kid who would be stupid enough to touch a fan probably wouldn’t be able to reach, but I still don’t want anyone (Pete) taking any chances.

“Yes mother,” he replies in a falsely cheery tone complete with an eye roll.

“Don’t call me mother, that’s just weird.”

“Yeah, it is, I’ll stop.”

“So…” I can’t think of anything to say. I could complain about my rather rude awakening this morning, but he has made up for that with this delicious breakfast that I still have yet to finish. I wonder what he did with the airhorn. I think I asked him to get rid of it. “Did you get rid of the airhorn?”

“What? Oh yeah, I did. Well, I woke Kevin up with it first. Oh, and I got you something. Hope you aren’t allergic.” He grabs his water bottle. Is it alcohol? Why would I be allergic to it. Then I notice the little purple flowers. I’m not really a flower type of guy, but I appreciate the gesture. Am I allergic to it? I really don’t know. I probably shouldn’t stick my face up to it, but I’ll probably be fine.

“Thanks, they’re beautiful.” I lean up to give him a kiss. 

“Your lips are all sticky,” he complains, wiping his cheek. Not my fault he put so much syrup on the pancakes. “Also, I heated up the syrup, that’s why they're still warm.” I should make a note of that. I should also finish these pancakes. I sorta want to wolf them down so I can get started with the day, but I also sorta want to savor one of the last private moments I’ll be able to have with Pete all summer. It’s been quite hectic the past few days with all the preparations for campers, but I’ve loved every second of it. I hadn’t seen my boyfriend in almost a year, since we went home last summer. Our first day was Monday, but we got the day off since it was his birthday. We spent most of it at a Walmart because both of us were idiots who forgot everything, but it was still great since we were together. I’m really glad Pete convinced me to be a counsellor this year. The pay is total crap, but I get to be him. That makes it worth it.

“You’re giving me this lovesick look. What’re you thinking about?” Am I? Probably. That’s his fault. If he wasn’t o fucking lovable this wouldn’t be happening.

“You, us, the past week, last summer, everything,” I answer honestly. I busy myself with finishing the pancakes to try to hide the blush.

“Awwwwww, that’s sweet.” He did not just say that. Nope. I am not gonna deal with a lovey dovey Pete today. I cannot stand his fucking mood swings. Seriously, is he bipolar or something? Oh wait, he is, isn’t he. Great, now I’m berating my own thoughts. I’m really glad I didn’t say that out loud; that would’ve been really offensive. Besides I love Pete just the way he is, mood swings and all.

“Okay, shut up, we need to get to work.” Maybe us being in the same cabin is a bad idea. How will we ever get anything done? Love doesn’t protect stupid teenagers from angering bears or teach little kids to swim. We have months of this ahead of us. What if we fight or break up? I’ll still have to work with him every day. What have I got myself into?

Apparently my worry must’ve shown because Mikey just sits down on the edge of the bed and pulls me into a hug. “Whatever it is you’re worried about, it’ll work out. I’ll take care of the parents and signing in the kids today. Just relax baby, it’ll be okay.” He goes on and on, whispering reassuring things in my ear and holding me close. Eventually he just holds me there silently until I tell him that I’m okay.

Pete’s PoV

I really don’t know why Mikey got so upset all of a sudden, but I hate seeing him like that. This summer is supposed to be fucking awesome and happy and all that shit. I’m gonna do whatever it takes and make this the best summer ever for him. Even if that means dealing with mothers. There is absolutely nothing worse than dealing with mothers who are about to leave their nearly adult ‘babies’ behind for a whole summer. I’m pretty sure everyone in this cabin is already gonna be sixteen, but somehow they need me to babysit them. I turned eighteen less than a week ago, how am I somehow better equipped for protecting them than they are for themselves already. I hope all these kids are coming from too far away for their parents to come. My mother took me herself until I was fifteen when she finally decided she was too old to drive me six hours just to turn back around and drive another six hours home. I drove myself this time, just so I could have a car. I took my cousin’s beat up pickup truck and payed him a hundred bucks to take it for the summer. I don’t know why I had to pay him, otherwise it would’ve just sat in the garage collecting dust.

I grab the stupid sheet. Only five kids, guess I got lucky. Last summer there were seven kids who stayed the whole summer; most weeks there was even an eighth kid. I just have to deal with Trevor, George, Spencer, Brendon, and Jonathan. I wonder if they all know each other, or if they’ve never met. Some years I was with kids I knew, but most years I wasn’t because there was an age gap. I’m about to head out the door when Mikey stops me.

“Where are you going? It’s not even ten.” Oh, yeah. Despite the fact that most kids get here early, they generally don’t arrive before at least eleven thirty. I still have an hour and a half to waste. Of course, since the universe hates me, I’m finally tired again. I wonder if it’ll piss Mikey off if I take a nap. I decide that I’ll just cuddle with him, so I crawl into my bunk next to him and put my head on his shoulder. He wraps his arm around me and I close my eyes contentedly.

“Hey, wake up. As much as I’d love to let you sleep all day, you did promise to take care of the parents and it’s noon.” Mikey is gently shaking my shoulder. Shit, I didn’t mean to fall asleep. I’ve slept for like two hours. Fuck.

“Sorry,” I mutter, stretching and clambering out of the tiny bunk which was definitely not meant for two people. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

“That’s okay. Also, I hope the parents don't mind the dicks on your face.” That little fucker. Where is the fucking mirror. I scan the small cabin before locating one opposite the door. I run over to it, lifting my hair off my face to survey the damage. There’s nothing. I’m glad there’s nothing, but I’m still pissed at him.

“Fuck you, I could lose my job if you that.”

“That’s why I didn’t actually do that. If you’d wanted to sleep then you probably should’ve done it last night, but I have a book to read so I didn’t really care. Besides, you looked really cute asleep, didn’t want to mess with your drooling.”

“Shut up. I don’t drool.” I don’t. Seriously. Why would he say that. Occasionally he drools, but I don’t. I mean, there was that time when I got my wisdom teeth taken out, but Mikey wasn’t there he wouldn’t know that.

“What about those pics your brother sent last fall?” That fucker. He screwed with all the contacts in my phone and sent half of them videos when I got my wisdom teeth taken out. Which was seriously the only time I ever drooled in my life.

“I’d just gotten my wisdom teeth taken out, what do you expect?” He looked surprised. Great, Andrew probably sent it to him with absolutely no context. 

“Oh,” was all he said to this. I grab the clipboard with the sign in sheet and head over to the camp’s entrance, preparing to meet the spawn of Satan himself. I actually don’t know what’s worse, little kids on their summer break or their parents. At least the guys in my cabin should be almost my age.

I wonder what would happen if none of them showed up. Could Mikey and I just spend the whole summer in a cabin to ourselves. As I put on a name tag with my name and cabin number I decide it’s a moot point because I can already see a giant trunk that says Jon Walker on it, and I know that guy was on my list. Great, his mother is there too, and it looks like they’re arguing. I could interrupt to try to save the kid from making sure his mother won’t deposit any money for the snack bar (that summer was painful) and instead eavesdrop on the conversation. If I got involved it would just make things worse, but this could allow me to gather valuable intel that I could report back to Mikey. (What am I, a camp counsellor or a secret spy? Maybe both, you’ll never know.) 

From what I’m hearing I gather that Jon’s friends are all in Cabin 37, and they all requested to be with each other, but for some reason he’s in Cabin 41. His mother is trying to explain that maybe there were too many people in that cabin. Quite possible, and if they did it alphabetically I’m sure he would’ve been last. That happened to Mikey last year and he was really upset, but I comforted him. Looking back on that, I feel bad was upset, but I’m glad it happened. If it hadn’t we probably wouldn’t have gotten together.

Looks like the kid is starting to give up, I should probably go and try to make a good impression on the mother. I never succeed, but I can try.

“Hello, is there anything I can help you with,” I say in a voice that I can’t really pinpoint but is definitely not my own.

“My son here is looking for Cabin 41, could you help show him the way?” At least she seems polite. The mothers last year were demons.

“Certainly. That’s my cabin. He just needs to go over to the nurse and give her any forms and medications he has. I’ll take his bags back to the cabin.”

She then goes on to ask me if she needs to do anything else, which she doesn’t, before kissing Jon on the cheek (he didn’t seem very happy about that, but he’s probably about sixteen so that’s rather embarrassing) and leaving. I point him over to the nurse and then lug his massive trunk (which is so heavy that it must either have weights or five dead bodies in it) back to the cabin. It’s only about 30 yards away, but it feels like five miles. By the time I get there I’m all sweaty and gross. I probably have a sunburn and I might die of heatstroke from my choice of black skinny jeans and a black t-shirt. Of course, Mikey is just sitting on his bunk reading his stupid book.

“Oh hello,” he says cheerily. I scowl at him. “It’s your fault you refuse to wear nothing but black,” he says, responding to my glum expression.

“I am literally in hell.” 

“Do you even believe in hell?”

“I sure do now.” I would’ve probably actually gotten into a full blown argument with him, but at that moment Jon walked in (or should I say Walker walked in (no, that wasn’t funny)). He looked like he wanted to leave the second he stepped in. Probably felt like he was interrupting something (which he was, but I’m not gonna complain).

“Um, hi,” he muttered, looking at the floor.

“Hey, so I’m Pete, and up there is Mikey,” I say, gesturing to the upper bunk. “Since you’re the first one here you get your choice of bunk.” Hey, if he can’t get his choice of cabin, he can at least choose a bunk. 

“Is there any way I can switch cabins?” he asks shyly. Well, at least I know it’s not because of me.

“Unfortunately, no. If you wanted to be with some friends and they’re in a different cabin there’s really nothing you can do. There’s a limit to eight campers per cabin, and since you’re an all summer camper it could cause some conflicts later on down the road. Cabin rosters are made final a week before camp starts. Switches are occasionally allowed, but only if it is deemed necessary due to problems between campers or a camper and a counsellor.” I just spouted off the stupid handbook thing they gave us, but I really didn’t know what else to say. The kid was out of luck. That probably wasn’t very reassuring though, so I’m glad Mikey stepped in.

“Last year I had eight other friends, and we were all supposed to be going to camp together. We didn’t think it out, and because we all requested each other one of us couldn’t be in the cabin. Since I was last alphabetically, I was the one they put in a different cabin. I hated it at first, but by the end of the summer I was actually closer to those in my cabin than those who had been my friends before.” Well, that last part wasn’t strictly true. He was close to me, no one else. Still, it worked out for the best.

The kid just nodded and started unpacking onto one of the top bunks. It was the one that was mostly separate from the others, which were sort of shoved up together. I suggested to him to choose one of the other ones, since there were only five kids they might as well be all together. Maybe it would even help him make some new friends. I couldn’t tell if he liked the idea, but at least he went for it.

Great, time to head back to the mess of parents. It’s almost one now so it’s sure to be a mess. After heading outside I discovered an absolute zoo. A very tired Kevin was trying to separate some crying kid from his mother. I snickered to myself for a minute before heading to look for the other kids.

There was no chance I was gonna find them by getting into that mess, so I just decided to yell my cabin number once every few minutes. I felt my phone buzz in my pocket, but I knew I would get in trouble if I checked it. At about half past one two boys came up to me. One of them introduced himself to me as Spencer and told me the other kid was Ryan. Looks like another friendship I’m gonna have to break up.

“There’s a Spencer on the list, but no Ryan. I’m sor-“

“Is there a George?” asks Ryan, cutting me off. 

“There is, but you can’t swi-“

“That’s me,” he says, cutting me off again.

“How do you get Ryan from George?” I ask. I mean it honestly, that nickname makes no sense to me.

“It’s my middle name, I prefer Ryan. Please don’t call me George.” Well, okay then kid. I point them over to the nurses, but they tell e they’ve already been. I ask them if they know a Trevor or a Brendon, and they tell me Trevor isn’t coming and they don’t know Brendon. They also ask if their friend Brent Wilson, who ended up in Cabin 37, can switch. I tell them he can’t, but let them know he was probably mixed up with this Jon Walker guy. Ryan gets pissed and Spencer tells him to calm down. We walk back to the cabin, I introduce to Mikey, and then I leave to go wait for the Brendon guy. It seems like I’ve pissed everyone off today, even these guys I’ve never met. I hope Mikey will keep the peace between Ryan and Jon because it looks like a fight waiting to happen.

Brendon’s PoV

I’ve never been to a summer camp before. I’d also never been on a plane without my parents before today. So many firsts today, I bet I’ll be an entirely new person by the end of the summer. I’m also on my first Uber ride alone. I really wasn’t planning on this, but I missed the bus and I had to use a payphone (another first) to call my mom since she made me leave my phone. She wasn’t happy, but she got me an Uber. Thanks mom.

My mom said to tip the driver, but I don't know how much. I think five is too little, but twenty is too much, and I don’t have a ten. I hurriedly give him he twenty and get out because I really don’t know what I was supposed to be doing. He starts to drive off, but then stops and rolls down his window to tell me I left my suitcase in his trunk. Crap, that’s embarrassing. I get my stuff as quickly as possible and speed walk away. According to my watch it’s almost one thirty, but I’m pretty sure that means it’s almost four thirty, and I was supposed to be here by three. There’s like no one around and I’m pretty sure I ended up in the wrong place. Then I see some girl who’s probably a bit older than me coming out of some building. She asks me if I’m a camper, so I say yes, and she tells me to go the nurse. She points to the building she just left, so I go in.

The nurse seems nice enough, she asks for my forms and my medications, checks me for lice, and then tells me to go to Cabin 41. When I look at her a bit cluelessly she points me off in the direction of the cabins. I grab my suitcase, and awkwardly roll it towards the cabins. When I finally get to 41 (there are a lot of cabins, there’s probably a ton of kids, are there generally this many kids at a summer camp?) I awkwardly know on the door. A guy who I think is about college age with long side bangs opens the door.

“Hey, are you Brendon?” he asks.

“Yeah, that’s me.”

“I’m Pete, your counsellor.” He shows me inside and points out the other counsellor, Mikey, and the four other campers. He tells me to take any of the bunks open on the left side, so I take the last remaining top bunk. It’s sort of awkwardly in the middle, but I know I want the top bunk. 

“Well, dinner’s at six. Spencer, you’ve got kitchen duty so you should head over fifteen minutes early, you can take a friend if you want. Until dinner do whatever you want, I don’t care, just don’t get me or Mikey in trouble,” Pete announces.

This one kid, who has curly hair that’s a bit of a mess and a rather boyish, sorta round face (he’s actually pretty cute), whose name I’m pretty sure is Ryan, asks if we can use our phones. I’m sure Pete will say no, since the rules specifically prohibit phones. Instead, he says, “Sure, just don’t get caught or else I’ll be forced to take them away. I’d sneak them back for you, but it would probably take a week.” Pete relaxes into his bunk, clearly texting someone. Suddenly everyone but me is on their phones. I’m just sort of left staring at them.

Pete looks up and sees me staring. “What’s the matter, don’t like breaking the rules?” I really don’t know how to respond to that. I really wouldn’t care, it’s just that I don’t have my phone. Even if I did, it’s not a smartphone because my mom doesn’t think I need one, but I’m not gonna say that to a room of people with iPhones.

“My mom forced me to leave my phone at home,” I mutter, embarrassed. Pete just looks at me like he feels sorry for me. Great, first day at camp and I’ve already singled myself out as a pitiful loser.

“I have an old iPod touch in my bag,” says Mikey. “It’s ancient and doesn’t have cellular, but you could probably play Angry Birds.” I think I may have misjudged the nerdy kid in glasses. I would've thought he would just be indifferent to all of us, but maybe he’ll actually be helpful. Although he still seems a bit quiet. I really shouldn’t be judging him for being a nerdy kid in glasses, since that’s exactly what I am, too. Why wouldn’t my mom just let me get contacts. She doesn’t think I’m responsible enough.

“Thanks,” I say.

“Hey, Pete, could you grab my backpack?” Mikey asks.

“Which one is it?”

“It’s the blue and grey one.”

“Who’s initials are those?”

“What initials?”

“G. A. W.”

“Oh, those are my brother’s, Gerard Arthur Way.”

“I was wondering about that last night.” Mikey just sorta looked at him weirdly and didn’t respond as Pete gave him the bag. After rummaging through it he tosses me the old iPod and a charging cable. 

“I haven’t touched it in months, so it’s dead and since it’s so old it probably won’t even turn on for like an hour or two,” he says. I guess I’ll just read a book until dinner. I brought the whole Harry Potter series with me so I could reread it for like the one millionth time. 

I’d gotten really immersed into the book when suddenly Pete telling Spencer to go head down to the dining hall brought me back to reality. Ryan left with him and Pete suggested that we might want to change before dinner. I felt pretty good about my jeans and Sum 41 shirt (my mom wanted me to wear something nicer but I had to because of the cabin number) so I just continued reading my book. Next thing I knew it was time to go.

I had no idea what they were gonna serve or anything. Would it be nice food, would it be crappy food, would it be food you’d eat while camping, I have no idea. I do hope there’s s’mores for desert. As we headed down to dinner Pete asked me if I’d ever been to camp before. I told him I had never been to summer camp before and he seemed shocked. He told me how this was his eleventh year at this camp and how he’d gone here ever since he was eight. Well, I’m twice that age and I’d never been to a summer camp before.

Apparently they always serve hotdogs and hamburgers on the first day. That’s really great because I’m a vegetarian. I end up sitting between Mikey and Jon at a table that is definitely meant to hold more than six people. Everyone keeps starting chants and sing-a-longs and every single person here, even the little kids, somehow knows all the words. When Mikey asks why I’m not eating I quietly tell him I don’t eat meat and Pete offered to get me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I say yes because I haven’t eaten anything since the bag of pretzels on the flight because they ran out of vegetarian meals. After dinner we head over to a massive campfire where they sing more songs (at least most of them are repeat-after-me songs), go over the rules, and pass out s’mores. They ran out of chocolate by the time they get to our cabin because the little kids kept stealing and eating it. Pete stuffs an entire plate of marshmallows inches mouth and pretends to attack Mikey, who seems to be limping. Pete notices and stops to ask if he’s okay. Ryan and Spencer are talking to this kid from another cabin, and Jon has completely disappeared into the crowd. I just sorta stand alone, since all the benches have been taken up by tired little kids. Eventually we head back to the cabin.

“Okay, so I’m supposed to give you this whole big talk on camp rules and how if you need anything go to a counsellor,” Pete starts, “but you guys have all been here before except Brendon, and most of them were already talked about. Lights out at nine thirty, so we turn out the overhead light and get quieter. I don’t care when you guys go to bed, I’m not your mother and you’re all old enough to make your own decisions. However, since I’m pretty sure you guys are all at least sixteen here-“

“I’m fifteen,” says Spencer.

“Are you going into your Junior year?” asks Pete.

“Yeah,” he answers confused.

“Then you guys are old enough for the talk.” There’s a collective of groans and Mikey has this incredulous look on face, but I’m actually sort of curious. I’ve never had the talk before since my parents decided it was unnecessary because we’re Mormons. I don’t really know if I believe in the faith, and even if I did I seriously doubt I’d wait until marriage for sex. Also, I’m gay, so that really wouldn’t fit into my parents ideals, but I guess I’d also need a different type of talk for that.

Then Mikey says that he’s pretty sure everyone here has already had the talk and they all nod in agreement.

“What about you, Brendon?” Pete asks. They all stare at me.

“I’ve never had the talk,” I manage to choke out after an unbearable silence.

“Well, when a guy loves a girl-“

“I’m gay,” I interrupt. I really don’t know why I just said that. Everyone else stares incredulously, but Pete seemed unfazed.

“Well, when a guy loves a guy-“

This time it’s Ryan who interrupts. “Why did you just say that?” He’s staring at me in a rather uncomfortable way. When nobody says anything he says, “Why would you just announce to everyone that you’re gay?”

Pete turns to Ryan and goes, “You got a problem with that?” It’s a bit threatening, but Ryan doesn’t flinch or anything.

“No,” he says, “I just don’t understand why anyone would tell a bunch of people they just met that they’re gay. Don’t people generally wait until they’re comfortable with each other before coming out?” I shrug. I really don’t know why I said it, but I’m starting to regret saying anything.

After some unbearable silence Pete decides to continue on. “Well, if you’re gonna have sex with a guy, make sure there’s lots of lube. You need to be prepared if you’re gonna have sex, spit just doesn’t cut it. And you have to really prep. If you’re not-“

“Pete, stop, seriously, no,” Mikey interrupts, seemingly very uncomfortable.

“If he’s gonna have sex with boys he needs to-“

“Yeah, he’s gonna have sex right now, on his first day of camp, before he’s met anyone, I don’t think so. If you feel it absolutely necessary to give him this talk, then don’t make the rest of us listen, okay.”

“Sorry Mikes, Brendon, we’ll talk about this later. I guess I better turn the lights off.”

Well, that was my first day of camp. So far it’s absolutely nothing like I expected. And why did I just come out like that? I think the ADHD makes me a bit impulsive, but that really went too far. I try to curl up in my sleeping bag and fall asleep, but it’s too small. Mikey’s iPod says it still doesn’t have enough power to turn on, and I forgot to get my flashlight out earlier. Today has really been fucking great.


	2. Day 2

Spencer’s PoV

Is that Evanescence? Is Pete’s alarm seriously Bring Me To Life? Generally I would find that pretty cool, but I do not want to wake up right now. Ryan wouldn’t stop talking to me for half the night. How come it’s always him that complains he needs more sleep, but then he acts like a vampire all night? He’s always like ‘I have insomnia, it’s not my fault,’ but then when I try to offer him anything to help him sleep he just scowls at me and walks away. I can hear his pillow-muffled groan from above me. This summer is gonna be just as miserables the last.

Of course, Pete just has to sing along and start dancing all over the place, checking to see if we’re awake. How the fuck are these counsellors always so preppy in the mornings, do they inject coffee into their veins or something? It’s only seven, can’t we sleep in another fifteen minutes.

“Guys, I let you sleep in for half an hour. I’ve never seen it necessary to wake up before 7:30 and there’s no camp policy or anything, but if we’re gonna do this you actually have to get up,” Pete says. Great. I just realized I’d rather wake up half an hour early and be able to lie around complaining about how I didn’t want to wake up than actually have to get out of bed as soon as I woke up. That feels stupid, but it’s how I’ve gotten to school on time for years, so it clearly works.

“How come they get to sleep in, but I don’t,” complains Mikey.

“What’re you talking about, we all got up at the same time?” asks Pete, confused.

“Yesterday,” Mikey says, sounding annoyed.

“Oh, sorry about that,” Pete responds sheepishly. Then he walks over to me and whispers, “There’s an air horn somewhere under your bunk. Do not, under any circumstances, let Mikey see it. He thinks I threw it away and I intend to keep it that way.” I really don’t know what to do with that information. I could probably use it on Ryan sometime. I make a mental note that I should do some serious pranking this summer. Jon suggested yesterday that we get Brent and the rest of his cabin, and I think that that’s a great idea.

“Jon, you have kitchen duty, you should go in like five minutes,” Mikey says. Glad I had it last night, at least I can lunge about for a little longer. Jon seems to be looking around for someone to take with him. Although it’s a job that really only requires one person, everyone generally pairs off for it. Since Ryan and I did it last night his only real option is Brendon. I don’t really want to judge him based on first impressions, but he’s definitely a little strange. I don’t really care that he’s gay or anything, Ryan’s bi, but that’s about all I know about him right now. Well, I guess I also now his name is Brendon, he has some nerdy glasses, and he could probably use a haircut. The haircut thing might be a bit hypocritical, mine is longer than his. Ryan’s is probably about the same length as his. Maybe we could all use some haircuts.

Jon doesn’t ask Brendon, he just gets up and leaves. I eventually get up and so does Ryan. I see Brendon hurriedly trying to get dressed, but I tell him not to bother. Why get dressed for breakfast, nobody else does. We all head over to the dining hall like zombies, mixing in with a crowd of sleepy teens and kids. We sit at our cabin’s table, where Jon has put a plate of french toast and six individual cereals in the middle. At least it’s easy getting stuff ready when there’s barely anyone in the cabin. I don’t think there are any full summer campers past our cabin, at least not for the boys. There always seems to be just a few more girls than boys. With all of there cute pjs and little giggles you wouldn’t think they just spent the night being broiled alive and then frozen, all while bugs are feasting on their flesh. Not to mention that I’m pretty sure these so-called ‘mattresses’ are just rocks stuffed inside some fabric. They probably stayed up half the night and they still seem to be fine.

“Okay, listen up…” Pete goes into all the stuff that he really should’ve said last night. Like how we have swim tests immediately after breakfast. Great. If we don’t pass the test we have to spend the whole summer in the shallow end, and only the little kids get a second chance. I’m not entirely sure how one would fail the swimming test, but I still get anxious about it. After that we have archery (which I suck at) and tennis (which no one even tries at). 

After we eat breakfast they announce the cleanest cabins (shit, I forgot about that) and Cabin 41 inevitably gets called to go clean their cabin. Pete and Mikey are both staring daggers at each other. Mikey claims since he’s junior counsellor it’s Pete’s fault, and Pete says it’s Mikey’s fault because he’s supposed to deal with trivial things.

“I am not your fucking housewife, Peter,” Mikey huffs angrily and the entire table (and the counselors from the Cabin 40) erupts into laughter.

“Yes, you are, but I guess it’s the kids’ fault,” he says, pretending to be angry at us. Everyone’s laughing now, except for Ryan. Pete’s just joking around, but he doesn’t find it funny. I keep expecting someone to ask him if he has ‘daddy issues,’ but no one does. Well, Brendon calls him a grump and he threatens to punch him in the face, but nothing catastrophic happens. Great, now we have to go clean the fucking cabin while everyone else has like fifteen minutes of free time.

Brendon’s PoV

How have I already made this guy hate me? I haven’t even known him for a day and when I’m just joking around he threatens to punch me. And he meant it, I could tell he was serious. Plus we didn’t clean the cabin like we were supposed to. They said it was worth ten points per day. They said last night that every cabin that gets 150 points by Friday gets Dairy Queen. I really want some DQ. Pete told me how the point thing works by quoting Harry Potter, which was pretty awesome. Apparently Mikey really loves the series. I’m pretty sure Pete and Mikey are dating, but even if they’re not there’s some definite chemistry going on.

Jon grabs my shoulder and tells me we have to go clean the cabin. I probably zoned off again. I don’t think I’ve taken my meds yet, but I can never remember. As we’re walking back to the cabin Pete tells us to head to the nurses and take any meds we might have. Yeah, I definitely haven't taken them yet. Most of the cabin heads over to the nurses office. I never really thought that other kids had to take meds, but I guess they do. I don’t know why I take this ADHD pill every single day since I’ve never actually noticed a difference, but my mom thinks it makes my behavior better. Whatever. I can feel Ryan staring at me. Seriously, what is his problem. He’s actually very intimidating to me right now and I want him to stop. I try to bury that thought, but somehow I can’t seem to shake it.

After fifteen tedious minutes of trying to shove stuff back into bags which seem to have shrunk quite a bit since last night, I give up and shove my pajamas into my pillow case. What does it matter, I’ll wear them again tonight. Then I wait my turn to head behind a curtain so I can change into my swim trunks. Nobody bothered with that last night. Are they only doing it because I’m gay? Do they think I want to see them naked? I don’t, at least I don’t think I do. I thought Ryan was hot yesterday, but now all I see is an asshole who makes me feel really uncomfortable. Why can’t people just be nice.

“Okay, do you guys all know how to swim?” Pete asks. Everyone nods, and he says, “Okay, then you’re good to go.”

“You only get one chance, so don’t screw up or else you can’t do anything in the lake or swim in the deep end,” Mikey adds.

“How’re they gonna screw up a swim test meant for seven-year-olds?” Pete rolls his eyes.

“My brother did it one year, and they forced him to stay in three feet deep water and sit on the beach while everyone else kayaked all summer long.” 

“Yeah, and how old was he?” Pete asks Mikey.

“Fifteen.”

“Does your brother even know how to swim at all?” Pete asks Mikey, incredulously.

“I don’t know. He doesn’t really seem to like going outside. That was the last summer he came.”

After a rather long pause Pete says, “Okay, let’s go…WAIT!” Everyone suddenly halts. I look around wildly to see if there’s a fire or creepy guy with a knife. Then Pete says, “You guys forgot to put on sunscreen.” He then proceeds spray all of us with sunscreen. He does it to Spencer, then Jon, then me. We he has me take my glasses off so he can get my face a bit gets in my eyes. I closed then, but it didn’t do me any good. Somehow this stinging feels like it’s the worst thing I’ve ever felt in my life, even though I’m sure that’s not true. When Pete gets to Ryan he tries to spray him, but Ryan doesn’t let him. He’s really being a jerk to everyone. 

“Hey!” Mikey yells as Pete attacks him with the sunscreen. Yep, they’re definitely dating. Pete chases Mikey out of the cabin and halfway to the pool before Jon decides to follow them, so we all file out. When we get to the pool a few other cabins are already doing their tests. Pete asks one of the other counsellors to go check are cabin to see if it’s clean. She just tells him she’ll sign off on it and doesn’t bother checking. Well that was a waste of time. The lifeguards seem really bored and start giving the tests in groups rather than as individuals. Pete and Mikey are trying to disappear behind a tree, clearly thinking no one can see them. Suddenly someone shoves me into the pool.

“What the-“ I splutter. The water’s freezing and I was definitely not prepared to get in yet. I also don’t know what happened to my glasses. Great, they’re at the bottom of the pool and I have to go get them. Oh, and guess who the lifeguards are telling off. It’s Ryan. Seriously, what the fuck is that dude’s problem. I clamber out of the pool, awkwardly holding my glasses and glaring at him, but he’s just talking to Spencer as if nothing happened. Well fuck him, I don’t care. 

After the stupid swim test, which literally everyone passes, we all head back to the cabins to get dried off before archery. I’ve never done archery before, but it looks fun. Plus Katniss Everdeen is fucking awesome. I’ve wanted to try archery ever since I read the Hunger Games, which was like forever ago. 

I don’t really know what to wear. I don’t really want to wear shorts, but it’s too hot for anything else. I end up putting on the stupid athletic shorts my mom insisted I bring. I’m sorta glad, because if I only had skinny jeans I’d probably die of heat exhaustion before the end of the summer, but still…I just don’t like ‘em. I throw on a random t-shirt and follow Pete and Mikey (and there is definitely a hickey on Mikey’s neck) over towards the woods where there are apparently targets. 

“Be careful, there’s poison ivy,” Mikey warns. 

“Since when,” asks Pete. If he’s the counsellor shouldn’t he know that?

“Since always, how did you not know that?” Mikey looks rather surprised and skeptical of Pete. We walk along a very short trail, carefully avoiding any foliage, to get to a clearing with some targets set up. 

“Okay, this should be fun, but you guys have to be careful. These rules are very important and if you break them we can’t do archery for the rest of the summer. Rule number one: Only point your arrows at the target and only when I say you can. Even if you’re just joking around you could accidentally shoot someone, and that would be very bad. Rule number two: Only collect arrows when I say you can. While collecting arrows no one may shoot. I don’t care how far away you are, I’ve seen some pretty hideous aim over the years. Rule number three: Do whatever I say. That’s pretty much already a rule so we should be good. Now would generally be the time where I demonstrate how to do this, but I suck, and so does Mikey. This is against the rules, but does anyone who knows what they’re doing want to demonstrate?” Maybe this isn’t as easy as the books and movies make it seem. Pete doesn’t sound very optimistic about anyone’s abilities.

“I can,” Ryan says. Oh great, this guy. Now he’s gonna show off. Whatever. He shows us how to hold the bow, which looks pretty easy, and how to put the arrow on it. The arrows aren’t sharp, which is definitely a good thing, but Pete says they could still hurt us due to speed. He compares them to bullets. Great, I bet Ryan is secretly planning on shooting me. He doesn’t get a bullseye, though. He gets in the middle ring, but everyone else still seems pretty impressed. They’ve all been here before, so I’m assuming this is probably a very difficult sport. 

Yeah, this is definitely a difficult sport. I’ve already gone through about twenty arrows and I haven’t hit my target once, although I did hit Spencer’s target once. He seemed pretty surprised before realizing it was me. Ryan’s definitely the best, he’s already gotten two bullseyes. Everyone except for me has hit their target at least once. Great. When we run out of arrows Pete has us go collect them. He notices my empty target and sends Ryan over to help me. I really don’t need or want his help. He demonstrates the whole thing while also pretending I don’t exist, then he shoves the bow into my hands. 

“I’m gonna show him,” I think to myself. I hastily pull back the string, trying to line up the arrow with my eye, by my glasses get in the way and I somehow poke myself in the eye really hard and then shoot the arrow into the ground about five feet away. “OW!” I yell, cutting at my eye while Ryan dissolves into laughter beside me. Well that went just perfectly. Pete rushes over to see if I’m okay and forces me to show him my eye. Apparently it’s very red, no duh. He sends Ryan to the nurse to get an icepack and makes me sit down. I bet everyone's staring at me, but my eyes are too full of tears for me to tell. Pete hands me the icepack that Ryan got and just sit on the stupid little lawn chair crying silently and waiting for death.

Pete’s PoV

The first day and kids are already getting hurt. By the end of the summer we’ll be sending them home in caskets. I feel bad for Brendon, he’d seemed pretty exited for archery and now he had to sit out. Ryan has really been a little bitch all day, too. I think I’m gonna have to talk to Spencer about that. No point in talking to Ryan, but Spencer might be able to control his friend a bit. The coin should be trying to make Brendon’s first year at camp great, not try to bully him.

It better not be because he’s gay. All the guys picked on Mikey last year just because he seemed nerdy, but if they’d have known he was gay I have no idea what they might’ve done to him. As much as I’d love to applaud Brendon for coming out, it might not have been the smartest decision.

Speaking about injuries, my back is really bothering me. It has this painful itching feeling that won’t go away. Did I forget the bug spray? (Well, I did, but Mikey brought some and I put it on.) Maybe I’ll get Mikey to look at it during break. It has to be almost break time by now, we’ve been at this for what seems like hours. I check my phone, it’s almost 11. At eleven we get off for a 45 minute break before lunch. I tell everyone to go pick up the arrows and check on Brendon’s eye. It still seems a bit pink, but I’m sure it’ll be fine by lunch.

When we get back to the cabin I tell the boys the Mikey and I need to have a meeting. Mikey raises his eyebrows but doesn't question it. After they’re gone he immediately informs me that he still won’t have sex with me for the next week and then goes to leave. 

“No, wait, that’s not what I wanted,” I call after him. He turns, looking at me questioningly. “My back is really fucking itchy and I want you to look at it.”

Thankfully I have such a great boyfriend who is willing to help me out with such things. He lifts up my shirt and lets out an audible gasp. That doesn’t sound good.

“What’s wrong?”

“Did you take a bath in poison ivy or something? You have a horrible rash all over your back.”

“No, of course I didn’t. I haven’t been near any poison ivy.”

“You didn’t even know there was poison ivy by the woods.” He sounds like he’s accusing me of something. I haven’t even been near the woods before today. Well, except for when I picked those flowers. Then I laid down in the grass. Without a shirt. Oh fuck.

“Is there poison ivy where the wildflowers grow?” I ask in a quiet voice.

“This is from when you picked me those flowers, isn’t it?” I nod.

“But I took a shower like half an hour later!”

“Doesn’t matter, if you don’t get it off in like five minutes you can still get a rash. Yours is really bad, you’re definitely gonna need to put something on that.”

“Do you have anything?” Crap, this is really bad. The itch is like the worst thing I’ve ever gotten and it keeps getting worse. I try to scratch it, but Mikey stops me, saying that it’ll only make it worse.

“Don’t scratch. I think I have some in this kit Gee gave me.” Well, he better. The itch now feels likely entire back is on fire. Mikey gets out this tube of some type of ointment and tells me to go lie down on my bunk. He starts spreading out all over my back, and I have never felt anything this good in my entire life. Except maybe Mikey’s blowjobs. I’m probably moaning and I really couldn't care less right now. Mikey ends up giving me a pretty nice back massage which feels amazing. It still itches a bit, but it’s much more manageable than before. He really works it into my skin, allowing for more relief. 

“I think you should just lie there until lunch, allow it to soak in.” Whatever he says. I’m gonna take a nap. Mikey starts reading his book again and I fall asleep.

“Hey, what happened to his back?” some kid asks. I think it might’ve been Jon, but I’m still half asleep. 

“He doesn’t know what poison ivy is,” Mikey responds. Hey, that’s not true, I’m just not very good at identifying it.

“Hey, whose turn is it for kitchen duty?” asks Mikey.

“Mine,” says Brendon. “Hey, who’s George?” Crap, I meant to fix the schedule.

“It’s supposed to say Ryan,” I tell him.

“How do you confuse Ryan with George?” I really wish he would just drop it, Ryan seems to get pretty pissed about his name and he already treats Brendon like trash.

“It’s my first name,” Ryan answers.

“Your first name is George? But then why do you go by Ryan?”

“Why do you care? What’s it to you?” Oh great, here we go. I wait for Brendon to say something else stupid, but he stays silent. Good boy.

“Uh, what do I do for kitchen duty?” I’ll show Brendon if I have to, but I don’t want to put on a shirt right now. Luckily Jon volunteers and they head off. I try to get another fifteen minutes of sleep before lunch.

Ryan’s PoV

I don’t even want lunch. Does anyone actually eat lunch at home? I’d rather just stay in the cabin and talk to Spencer, but Mikey won’t let us. I didn’t expect he would. They’ve always had pretty strict rules about skipping meals.

Oh look, sandwiches, I’m so surprised. Lunch is always sandwiches. I can’t remember a time when it wasn’t sandwiches. They have soup and salads too, but mostly it’s just a collection of crappy sandwiches. I ask Spencer to grab me one, he knows what I like, and I don’t feel like waiting in line for one. 

When he gets back I scarf it down, not even bothering to figure out what it is. I’m pretty sure there was some type of meat and cheese, but beyond that I couldn’t give a crap. I talk to Spencer about some random bands and Jon tells us how he can play bass. Brendon starts to say something, but doesn’t. He’s sorta weird. I mean, who tells a room of strangers that they’re gay. Seriously, who? Apparently Brendon. I don’t know why I pushed him in the pull. I sorta did it just because I could. There’s just something about him that pisses me off. Maybe he’s just a bit too innocent. He expects too much of the world, I’m just trying to show him how things work in the real world. People are douchebags, get over it. Yeah, I just described myself as a douchebag. At least I’m not as big a douchebag as my father.

Spencer breaks off my thoughts by handing me a popsicle. Okay then. I try to get a laugh out of him by deepthroating it. I catch Brendon staring. I almost wink at him before I stop myself. I might be bi, but I don’t want him to know that. I quickly finish the popsicle before I can do anything I’m gonna regret. I leave the dining hall as quickly as possible, glad that Brendon has to clean up and can’t just follow him.

Brendon’s PoV

What the fuck was Ryan doing earlier? Was he making fun of me? Why do I find that so hot? Why did Ryan give me a fucking boner? What the fuck is wrong with my body. I sweep up in a bit of a daze, sorta halfway daydreaming about Ryan. Why am I like this? I rush over to the cabin for an hour of ‘naptime.’ I seriously doubt anyone is gonna be asleep. No, they’re all on their phones, which I don’t have. But I have Mikey’s iPod, which might finally have enough charge to turn on. 

I turn it on and am immediately presented with a naked Pete. “What the fuck,” I say, rather loudly. Well now I know they’re definitely dating. Pete runs over to see what I’m looking at. He’s, unsurprisingly, a bit shocked.

“Umm, sorry,” he says, embarrassment flooding his voice. He takes the iPod over to Mikey. They have a whispered conversation which ends with Pete grinning and Mikey blushing. Then Pete hands me back the iPod, the lock screen is now a rather awkward picture of Mikey in lingerie. He’s not entirely naked like Pete had been, but it’s enough.

“Change it before Mikey sees,” he whispers. I’m not entirely sure what the point of it was, but I just sort of accept it. I change it to a random picture I think Mikey took at a concert. I notice it’s connected to ‘Petey’s iPhone.’ I’m pretty sure Pete said I could use his data. If not, well, I won’t use too much. Mostly I just listen to music. It seems like Mikey likes a lot of the same bands I do. Well, so do Jon, Spencer, and Ryan, and likely Pete. Maybe if I just wear band shirts they’ll be nice to me. I bought a few at Warped Tour last summer.

Ryan’s PoV

Oh, great, tennis. Fucking tennis. I fucking hate tennis. Last year Spencer sprained his ankle playing tennis, the year before that someone hit a ball directly into my eye, the year before that something else happened but I can’t remember. It was probably a concussion or something similar. What’s gonna happen this year. Manslaughter?

Pete just hands us rackets and puts us two on two. Me and Spencer vs. Jon and Brendon. All four of us are terrible, but I think Brendon might actually be the best. Or maybe Jon. Either way they’re crushing us. We take a half hour water break, way longer than any of us needed, but it still seemed necessary. Pete forced us all to reapply sunscreen since Spencer seemed a bit pink. Then we were forced to switch teams.

If I actually cared about winning I would’ve been glad to have Brendon on my team, since I don’t it’s pissing me off. He doesn’t seem that happy about it either.We don’t keep score, but I think we’re losing just because Brendon and I don’t want to go anywhere near each other. Of course, Pete complains about this and how we need to work together. Which is exactly how I somehow hit Brendon right in the face with my racket as the ball bounces over his head. I knew something like this would happen.

I can’t tell what sort of damage I did since his entire face is covered in blood. He doesn't really seem to be in pain, just shocked. After a few more seconds pass he says he’s okay, but in a strange way, almost as if he doesn’t believe it himself. Pete immediately starts fussing over him, trying to wipe the blood off with his shirt. It doesn’t work very well and Brendon yelps in pain. Mikey comes up with a better idea, take him to the nurse. So I walk him over to the nurse. They didn’t ask me to do it, but it’s my fault, so I feel like I have to do it. 

The nurse also immediately makes him yelp in pain, but at least she knows what she’s doing. After she cleans off a lot of the blood I can see that his nose is bleeding and he has a rather large cut above his eyebrow which stretches across his forehead. He has a really big forehead. That’s a lot of blood. Blood generally doesn’t bother me, but this makes my stomach upset for some reason. Probably because it’s my fault. She gets his nose to stop bleeding and puts a few bandaids on his forehead, then tells me to take him back to the cabin. We still have almost half an hour of tennis left, so this is practically a blessing.

“Hey, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hit you,” I tell him when we get back to the cabin. I know I’ve been an asshole to him all day, but this went a bit further than I would purposely go. Then again, I laughed when he poked himself in the eye and that’s already turning into a bruise. Why does this guy just keep getting injured? The only thing I’ve gotten today is a blister on my foot and possibly some sunburnt ears.

“It’s okay,” he says, seeming dazed. Could I have given him a concussion or something? I don’t think so, but I can’t really help but worry. I screw around on my phone for a while until everyone else gets back, then I take a shower before dinner. I get Spencer to go with me for kitchen duty and make him set out the plates and cutlery while I get the pasta, breadsticks, and ‘bug juice.’ Then I drink like half of the Kool Aid before everyone else gets here just because I can.

After dinner we all do another one of those sing-a-longs which are somehow engraved into my head permanently. Brendon keeps screwing up all the words before he gives up and just sings his own hilarious versions. I almost laugh before realizing that I’m not sure if I want to be friend with him or not, so I just turn away. Then we look at the stars before lights out and I tell Spencer I see a bunch of made-up inappropriate things in them, which has been a game since we were little. Today really reminded me how much I actually hate summer camp, and how it’s only good looking back on it during the school year because school.


	3. Day 3

Mikey’s PoV

I’m already tired of Pete’s stupid alarm choices. Today it’s All Star. Why can’t he just choose some basic alarm that’s already built into the phone instead of random annoying songs. Of course, I’m not gonna tell him this. He would just choose worse songs.

It’s only 7, yet he’s already going around waking everyone up. I thought he was gonna let them sleep in. Oh, right, we forgot to clean yesterday. He doesn’t bother me, so at least I can lie here for a while while everyone else scrambles to organize the cabin. How can it even get so bad in such a short period of time? Pete seems to be trying to find a place to put the wilting flowers he gave me. He eventually decides to stuff them in the mini fridge we probably shouldn’t have. Which we also didn’t tell any of the campers about so they’re just staring at our collection of various drinks and snack foods.

“Why are you refrigerating candy bars?” asks Brendon.

“They’d melt otherwise.” I answer. I climb out of bed. It’s about time to anyways. Brendon and Jon head off for kitchen duty. I’m glad Jon went with him, I didn’t think anyone would. Pete covers the mini fridge with an American flag, trying to make it seem inconspicuous. He fails miserably, but I manage to smooth it out and make it look like it’s just a box or suitcase. I throw a few things the boys missed into Pete’s pillowcase and make my bed. Then we all head down to breakfast, Pete and I trailing behind so we can hold hands. We’re trying to be discreet, but I know at least Brendon has already figured it out. Well, at least he won’t care.

They’re supposed to announce the theme of the week at breakfast. They were supposed to do it at lunch yesterday, but we forgot to pick a theme. All the senior counselors had a meeting and voted, but Pete wouldn’t tell me what it is. He said I’d like it. I probably won’t, but I’ll accept it as long as it’s not musicals. I’m still trying to get the songs from High School Musical out of my head.

Turns out it’s superheroes. Well, I do like it, but generally I’m more into some obscure ones nobody else would get. It’s Gerard’s fault. He has this obsession with comic books. I mean, he literally went to art school for comics, you can’t get much more obsessed than that.

“Okay, we need to choose a superhero. Any suggestions?” Pete looks at me. I’m a counselor, it’s the campers’ decision, not mine. They all start saying incredibly basic ones like Superman, Batman, Spiderman. Basically anything that ended in man. Pete keeps trying to subtly whisper Deadpool as if he thinks that he can control their subconsciouses or something. Eventually they notice him. Ryan, Spencer, and Jon like it, but Brendon says he wasn’t allowed to see Deadpool. Of course Ryan laughs at this and Brendon seems a bit hurt.

“I have it on my phone. We can have movie time during break and nap time.” Of course Pete would have Deadpool on his phone. Personally, I think Deadpool is a bad idea. This whole thing is supposed to be kid friendly. Plus, he’s an antihero, not a superhero. Of course Pete would argue that some of the other cabins are bound to choose villains, but I really don’t know how we can do Deadpool themed stuff without getting into to trouble. And there’s no way we’ll get any points for it. 

We get best cabin in our age category for the boys. Nobody expects much from high school boys, so we probably beat the other guys by a mile. Pete is surprisingly good at cleaning up. (He’s still a lot better at making a mess.) I’m about to kiss him before I realize we’re still in the dining hall. I miss last week when we had time to be alone together. 

“What do we have today?” Spencer asks. I haven’t even looked at the schedule. Pete pulls out a crumbled piece of paper from his pocket and stares at it. From that slight frown on his face it’s not good. It’s probably basketball or something. The court is really open so anyone can see, which means you actually have to try. I don’t know a thing about basketball.

“We have, uh, it says zumba. I don’t even really know what that is, but I think it’s a type of dance. This was probably a mistake, they’ve never had this before.” Seriously. Fucking zumba. Dancing. What the fuck. I bet one of the female counselors was like, ’how do I fuck with teenage boys, ah, I know, make them do dancing.’ They have got to be kidding us. I am not gonna bust out any fucking dance moves.

Pete heads off to check with the office about the schedule. I’m halfway to the cabin for I remember the allergy medication. I remind Brendon, who I’m pretty sure took something yesterday, and then go to the nurses. I also swipe Pete’s because I’m sure he’ll forget otherwise.

Pete comes back to the cabin with an announcement. We do, in fact, have zumba. We’ll have to spend about two hours creating dance moves to songs. Fucking great. But first, as a required morning activity, all the campers have to do relay races.

We do horribly in the relays, only getting twelve points for our cabin. We would have gotten seventeen, but Ryan decided to trip Brendon during the egg race. He seriously needs to stop. I’m starting to wonder if he hit Brendon with the racket on purpose. He could’ve gotten seriously injured. I’m gonna talk to Pete about the later. Crap, I forgot to give Pete his medication.

“You forgot this,” I tell Pete, trying to be discreet about giving him the baggie.

“What, the cocaine? You know that nobody is actually gonna care, we’re counselors.” Well, that may be true, but I would still rather not get caught.

“Hey, do you think we should to Ryan about his behavior?” and by we I mean Pete because I'm not doing it.

“I don’t know about talking to Ryan, but maybe Spencer. I think that he could be much more of an influence on his behavior than we could ever be.” Well, Spencer does seem a bit easier to talk to, I guess that could work. Maybe we should talk to him during break. I tell Pete that sounds like it could work, then I try to mentally prepare myself for zumba.

Jon’s PoV

Zumba seems…not fun. I’m not entirely sure what it even is, but I already hate the idea of it. Dancing can be fun, but only if applied in the right situations. I’m pretty sure this is more like a sport, or maybe it’s a cross between yoga and dancing. Either way, if it requires me to stretch before starting it’s guaranteed to be horrible.

The only good thing about this is we’re allowed to use the dining hall, which is air conditioned. Apparently zumba is supposed to be used with energetic music and involves squats and lunches, so it’s basically just pure exercise set to music. I mean, I like the music part, as long as they don’t choose anything that is too overtly pop. So basically I don’t like the whole ‘energetic music’ idea. At least I know Ryan and Spencer have similar music tastes to mine, and I’ve some of Brendon’s band shirts, so I think he does too.

Pete takes out his phone and starts trying to figure out the speaker system. It’s seems ancient. Hey, if he can’t figure that out can we just sit around here and waste time. Maybe we could watch Deadpool, Pete said it was on his phone. Unfortunately, Mikey figures it out. Great, now we have to dance. Not only is this going to be tiresome, but it will also be embarrassing.

“Okay, any music suggestions. Personally, I’m in the mood for some Sum 41, show some cabin spirit.” Well, that works. Seems like Pete also has a similar music taste. At least the music will be okay, but now we have to do some stupid dance moves.

Mikey suggests the song “Still Waiting,” so we all listen through the whole song once. Then we listen to it another five times, just to ‘get more of a feeling for the song.’ (Seriously, none of us want to dance.) Then we watch the music video, wondering if it’ll bring us some inspiration (it doesn’t).

“Never mind, this was a bad song,” Mikey says.

“No, it’s a great song, it’s energetic, now we just need to dance.” Pete seems like he’s gonna be pretty stubborn about this.

“And how do we even dance to this?” Mikey is clearly regretting his choice in song.

“I don’t know, maybe a mosh pit,” Pete suggests.

“Isn’t it supposed to be organized?” Well, Mikey does have a point, but I would rather do just about anything than some stupid organized dance right about now.

“I don’t give a damn. I’m gonna put on some playlist, and we’re all gonna dance.” Well, I’m pretty sure I like Pete’s taste in music, but I really don’t want to dance right now. After about two minutes of us all awkwardly moving our hips around, Ryan just sits down, followed by Spencer. I sit down and so does Brendon. Pete gets us all some lemonade and we all just sit around discussing bands. This is all great until some other counselors come in to make lunch (I’m not entirely sure what they’re doing, since lunch is always a build your own sandwich type of thing). Pete jumps up and quickly changes the music to ‘Shake It Off.’ Then he tries to get us to copy some really weird dance moves/exercise positions. They don’t even match the beat of the song. One of the other counselors comes over to laugh at us, and I’m pretty sure Pete threatened to rip his face off with a rusty knife. Eventually, after a few torturous Meghan Trainor songs we’re finally allowed back to the cabin for our short break. I take a quick nap. Today has already proven itself to be incredibly exhausting.

Brendon’s PoV

Within the first five minutes of Deadpool I can definitely tell why my mother refused to allow me to see it. It’s incredibly violent and the language is abominable. I love it. When Pete makes me pause it so we can go to lunch I’m actually rather disappointed. Pete seems to be pretty happy I like it. He tells me he has all the comics at home and says he might ask his brother to mail them. That would be awesome, since there’s only so many times you can reread Harry Potter. (Well, that’s not strictly true, but there’s only so many times you can do it in one summer before you just start quoting the book in your sleep, and this entire cabin already hates me. No need to make it worse.)

I talk to Jon about some bands during lunch. Spencer is acting pretty nice towards me as well. Ryan just simply ignores me. Well, I suppose that’s better than him punching me in the face or something. It had seemed like maybe he was starting to war up to me last night, but this morning he’d been just as cold towards me as he had before. I still believe he hadn’t hit me with the racket on purpose, but half of my reasoning for that is that he’s so absolutely horrible at tennis. Honestly, if he’d been trying to hit me, he would've hit himself instead. 

Pete tells us we have pool time after lunch. I didn’t realize they gave pool time as a cabin thing, I’d just thought it was something you could do during free time. That means we’re gonna have two whole hours just to swim around and have fun. I wonder what the odds are for Ryan attempting to drown me?

Finally, we’re back in the cabin. While all the other cabins are napping, I get to watch Deadpool. I’m seriously loving this movie. Maybe it’s only because it’s like the fifth R-rated movie I’ve ever seen. My mom got rid of Netflix after she noticed the movies my brother had been watching, and that was three years ago. There are even parental controls on our tv. It’s sorta ridiculous since I’m the youngest, and I’m sixteen. Of course, they’re Mormons, so…fuck, I’m missing the movie. Goddamn you, ADHD.

Spencer’s PoV

Pete and Mikey had pulled me aside as soon as we had gotten to the cabin. I don’t know why, but they’re whispering to each other as if they’re deciding my fate. I haven’t done anything wrong (besides use my phone, but they gave us permission), so why they’re choosing my doom is beyond me. If anything, it should be Ryan’s fate they’re deciding. He’s being pretty obvious about his feelings towards Brendon. Although he might just have a crush he doesn’t know how to express. The last time he liked this girl he was almost stalking her. She even threatened to call the cops on him once because…

“So, I think we need to talk to you about Ryan.” Pete breaks me out of my reverie. Was he reading my mind? That’s sorta creepy, how did he know I was thinking about Ryan? Did he know, or was he actually planning on talking to me about Ryan?

“Um, what about him?” Is it his blatant lack of respect for those around him? Probably. Or did they find an illegal stash porn under his mattress and want me to give them his mom’s number? I don’t know why he’d have an illegal stash of porn under his mattress, but it’s Ryan, anything’s possible.

“We were wondering if maybe you could speak to him. Maybe talk to him about the whole Brendon thing. I don’t know what his problem is, if it’s homophobia or something else, but it needs to stop. Brendon is getting hurt, and he’s done nothing wrong. In fact, all of you guys should probably be nicer to him, but at the very least Ryan needs to stop.” Well, Pete agrees with me. Although now he’s shoved the responsibility of making Ryan behave onto me. Well, I am his best friend, guess it’s sorta my job.

“I could try, but I can’t guarantee he’ll listen to me. Ryan’s strange about a lot of things. I can tell you for sure it’s not homophobia. I really have no idea what it is about. I’ll try to be nicer to him, he seems like a nice guy. Maybe if I’m nice to him Ryan will be too.” What the fuck am I supposed to do? I don’t even know what his problem is with Brendon, let alone how to stop it. Sure, I’ll try, but odds are I’ll just screw things up further.

“Thanks,” Pete says. Then he climbs up into Mikey’s bunk and they start talking about who knows what. Maybe they’re trying to figure out how to have sex in a bunk full of other people without getting caught. I mean, they’re both clearly gay and attracted to each other. Who knows? I head over to my bunk, bracing myself for an awkward conversation with Ryan.

“Hey, this whole thing you’ve got going on needs to stop. I don’t know what your problem is with Brendon, but it’s gone on long enough.”

He sighs, probably expecting an argument. I don’t want to fight with him, but we’re gonna have to spend the whole summer with Brendon. Unless Ryan somehow does something stupid enough to land himself in Juvy. I wouldn’t put it past him. “I don’t know, just leave me alone.” Just leave him alone, now why would I do that? He knows me, he knows there’s no point in even trying to tell me to piss off.

“No, you’re either gonna tell me exactly what your problem is with him, or you’re gonna stop it right now. What’s it gonna be.”

I can’t see his face since he’s in the bunk above me, but I’d bet his lips are pursed in annoyance and reluctance to answer me. Finally he says, “I don’t even know.” What does that mean? What does he not know?

“What? You don’t know? Seriously, is that the best you can come up with?”

“It’s the truth. I don’t know what my problem is. It just is. Seriously, I’ve tried to figure it out, but I can’t.” He sounds so exasperated. So he doesn’t know why he’s bullying Brendon, he just has an inexplicable anger towards him that cannot seem to be quenched. Well, it’s Ryan, anything’s possible. That might even be plausible. I can’t help but consider the possibility of a crush. He almost seems Ryan’s type, although he’s far too innocent. Maybe that’s it, he can’t stand Brendon’s innocence.

“Whatever, dude. I’m taking a nap. Sort out your problems.”

Ryan’s PoV

Oh goody, pool time. Generally I would love to just be able to cool off in the pool, but now I just wish I could stay here and avoid Spencer. And Brendon. Mostly Brendon. Apparently I now have to be nice to him. I tried last night, but it just felt sort of weird. I guess I’ll try again today. But I won’t be too nice, that would just be fake. Maybe I’ll just have to feign indifference until I find a few qualities I like in him. He has good music taste, I’ll give him that. His Blink 182 shirt is awesome. If he likes my favorite band surely there’s something in him I can grow to like. Or at east tolerate.

After the hot day, the cool water feels great. I swim down to the bottom of the pool, wondering how long I can stay down. After about a minute I feel like I may be dangerously close to drowning as the urge to take a breath becomes painful. I swim up to the top, gasping for air, but the second I get up there Spence starts splashing water into my face. Seriously, dude, let me catch some breath first. 

After I finally manage to get Spencer to stop, mostly by kicking him, and I can breathe normally again, I decide to go for payback. There’s this thing I do where I slap the water and then shove it towards someone. It really makes a huge splash. Suddenly we’re in an all out splash war. Spencer accidentally hits Jon, and he assumes it was me, so we end up in this three way fight. I keep going for Jon, who for some reason isn’t splashing me back, when I realize it’s not Jon. It’s Brendon, who’s giving me this look like ‘what did I ever do to you.’ I stop splashing immediately, about to apologize (only for Spencer’s sake), when he swims away. Oh well, not my fault. Spencer tries to splash me again, but the game’s not fun anymore.

I get on one of those inflatable rafts and just lie back, trying to enjoy the sun. Pete’s whole ‘time for fun time in the sun time…time’ thing isn’t quite as fun as it sounded. Also, what are we, seven? Does he have to treat us like children? I’m going into my senior year, and I’m pretty sure I’m as old as Mikey. My thoughts get interrupted by Spencer suddenly shoving over the raft, sending me into the frigidly cold water. At least it feels that way after lying in the sun for about twenty minutes or so.

“what was the for?” I ask angrily. I had been enjoying myself, and then he just had to come along an ruin it. Well fuck him.

“I was bored.” Seriously, that’s his excuse. He was bored. Well boo hoo, nobody cares. Swim around, talk to Jon or Brendon, fuck with Pete and Mikey, just leave me alone. I feel exhausted, like this whole summer is a massive weight on my shoulders. Sure, it’s better than school, but I almost wished I’d just stayed home this summer. On second thought, I don’t, but only because Spencer and Brent still would’ve gone and I’d be stuck home with my dad. Well, Trevor stayed, that would've been something. I’m just tired of responsibility. I’m gonna have to decide what I want to do with my life some time in the next year, and I’m just not feeling it.

I quickly dunk Spencer’s head under the water then swim to the other end before he can retaliate. I see Brendon talking to Pete about Deadpool. For some reason Jon and Mikey are having a staring contest, but Mikey keeps losing (he claims it’s because he needs his glasses). Spencer’s just glaring at me from the other end. I grin at him, which only seems to piss him off more. This might be the start of our annual prank war that inevitably happens every summer. I made some preparations before we left. He found the Nair before I could use it, but I still have the itching powder and some insect infused chocolate bars.

Pete’s PoV

“Okay, pool time is officially over. Come back next week, same time, same place,” I announce. I spent most of the afternoon talking to Brendon about Deadpool, which was great. He really seemed to love it. Tonight we’re supposed to see if we can make the other counselors guess what we chose by outfits and costumes. I actually brought two Deadpool shirts, so that should be easy. If they can guess it right first try we get ten points. All the ways to get points vary from week to week, but generally if you actually try to win you have about a fifty-fifty chance of getting DQ at the end of the week. One year I was in a cabin that didn’t want to try at all and we only got DQ once that summer, and only because I stayed behind and cleaned the cabin every day while everyone else had already headed over for breakfast.

I get everyone in the cabin to go take a shower tonight. I’m pretty sure they’d all gone at least once before, but I think they could do with a little more effort on personal hygiene. Specifically Mikey, who somehow seems to stir the most despite doing the least amount of physical activity. I probably should’ve made them all do this before getting in the pool, but it’s too late for that now. I take a shower too, with Mikey, but it’s mostly so he can help carefully clean my back. I’d worn a shirt in the pool because, even though it’s not contagious, it apparently looked so bad he couldn’t look me in the eyes if I was shirtless. I’d originally thought it was just him cementing the whole ‘no sex for a week’ thing, until I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. Also, it’s supposed to keep getting worse for like a week before it gets better, how am I gonna deal with this?

It’s so bad that Mikey feels the need to make soothing noises and kiss my neck while he cleans my back. Generally I would love this, but I think he’s genuinely worried about me. He tells me he’ll try to pick up some really medicated stuff during his day off tomorrow. Shit, I forgot about that, I don’t want to spend a day without him. Since we both have different days off, his on Wednesday and mine on Friday, that means we only get to spend five days out of the week with each other. Well, I guess everyone needs a break every once in a while, I’m practically with him 24/7. He finally finishes his gentle cleansing of my back, promising to put more of the cream on it after dinner. Then he gives me a quick handjob. Ha, I knew he couldn’t resist me for a week. I return the favor and enjoy a heavy, and rather steamy make out session, before carefully drying off and getting dressed for dinner (in my Deadpool shirt, I’m gonna lend my other one to Brendon). 

I borrow Mikey’s hairbrush so I can straighten my hair and notice several obvious hickeys on my neck. I don’t have a single shirt I brought that could hide those, so I’m just gonna pretend I don’t know what anyone’s talking about if they ask. I suppose it’s payback for yesterday.

When I get back to the cabin I see Ryan, Spencer, and Jon already dressed in red. Ryan is actually putting on some Deadpool makeup. Where did he get the makeup from? Brendon’s diving through his suitcase trying to find a shirt. I offer him my shirt, which he gratefully accepts. Ryan is trying to convince Spencer to let him put makeup on him, but Spencer is rather adamant about refusing. Ryan gets frustrated and turns to Jon, who backs away. Then he smiles rather evilly towards Brendon. As long as he’s not gonna poke Brendon’s eye out I think it’s fine. Except that he has kitchen duty.

I remind Ryan about the kitchen duty. “Spencer can go,” he says. Spencer’s about to reuse when Ryan tells him that otherwise he’ll be subjected to Ryan’s makeup skills. He all but runs to the door. Ryan sits Brendon down on the bunk and tells him to close his eyes.

Brendon’s PoV

Why did I allow myself to get into this situation. He’s either gonna poke my eyes out or turn me into a clown. Nevertheless, I sit down and close my eyes obediently. He gently removes my glasses (he better not break them) and starts to line my eyes. He’s being surprisingly gentle. He softly starts adding some eyeshadow. I have no idea what it looks like. When I try to peek he snaps at me, so I just sit here with my eyes closed for another five minutes until he’s done.

I look in the mirror, it’s nowhere near as extreme as his own face, which is entirely red and black, but it’s definitely something. Dark red eye shadow blends into thick, black eyeliner. It looks surprisingly good. Maybe I should wear makeup more often. There’s something strangely comical about this. When I woke up this morning I would never have thought that someone dressed up as Deadpool would be doing my makeup, let alone Ryan. The whole thing is just extremely weird. It’s almost time for dinner. As I walk out the door, Ryan stops me and says “you need to wear makeup more often.”

I can’t decide if that was an insult or a complement. If it was a complement, he was probably only complementing himself. Maybe he thinks I’m ugly. I put on my glasses, which slightly ruin the effect of the makeup, but I need to see. 

When I get to the dining hall I realize it’s taco Tuesday. Oh great, yet another meal I won’t eat. By the time we sit down Pete is already standing up again to go grab me a sandwich. He and Mikey are seriously awesome. I enjoy looking at everyone else’s outfits while I eat. Almost half the girl cabins seem to have chosen Wonder Woman. I sarcastically think ‘how original.’ Then I feel bad after I realize they don’t have many female superheroes from which to choose. A lot of the boys cabins are similar, but there’s at least some variety. At least they had the choices, even if they didn’t necessarily choose them. We’re definitely the only Deadpool group. When they go around guessing most are pretty easy, except for the cabins who didn’t try. A few kids pissed off their fellow cabin mates by wearing something for their own favorite superhero rather than the cabin’s, causing them to lose points. With Ryan’s makeup and our t-shirts, it’s pretty obvious. We get the ten points. A few of the other counselors seem to be a little suspicious about our choice. One says villains aren’t allowed, but tell that to the table of Jokers. Besides, Deadpool isn’t a villain, he’s an antihero. There’s a difference.

After dinner we have a scavenger hunt for masks, each one you find is worth five points. The little kids get a ten minute head start, then five for the tweens, then us. By the time we go there’s almost nothing left. After an hour of searching we’ve found two, which is still better than most. One is Spiderman, the other’s Iron Man. After that we head down to the snack bar for some ice cream. Their snacks are sorta crap compared to what we have hidden back in the cabin, and they cost money, but I can’t not buy ice cream when it’s available.

Pete wants us to play some icebreakers before bed, but none of us want to. Ryan reminds me to wash the makeup off before I go to sleep. I’d completely forgotten about that. I almost tell him thanks, but I don’t. For some reason I think it’d annoy him. I use Mikey’s iPod to play some crappy free games, then I actually fall asleep at about eleven.


	4. Day 4

Mikey’s PoV

Today’s alarm is “The Sound of Silence.” It’s probably because it’s my day off. Also, it’s Pete. I haven’t even really thought about what I’m gonna do today. I’m planning on going to a few stores to pick up some more things Pete and I have realized we’ve forgotten, but other than that, I don’t know. I think it’s supposed to rain later. Too bad I don’t have any friends to hang out with or anything.

Like yesterday, there is some tired yawning and stretching and refusing to get out of bed before a sudden flurry of activity as they rush to clean up. I get up and make my own bed before getting dressed. Not a requirement for breakfast, but I really don’t feel the need to come back to the cabin. I ask Pete for the keys to the truck, but he’s pretty sure he packed them so deep he has to tear his entire suitcase apart to find them. They’re in his backpack, so that was a complete waste of time. Jon leaves to do kitchen duty, but the other three stay behind to help Pete and I stuff everything back into the suitcase. By the time we’re done we’re five minutes late for breakfast.

Nothing like a plate of crappy pancakes to start off the day. I miss the one’s Pete made, those actually tasted good. I wish I could give him a syrupy kiss right now, but everyone else would see. I can barely even remember how we managed to keep our relationship a secret last summer, but I’m pretty sure it won’t work this year.

“Okay, Mikey’s leaving after breakfast, so it’s just me today. Please accept I am only one person. We have rock climbing this morning, which might get rained out. If it does we have a few options. Most of which involve going back to the cabin, since it’s likely the other cabins will take over all other indoor options. In the afternoon we’ll have arts and crafts. Don’t talk about this to Mikey because I think he’s upset he has to miss this.” That little bitch. “Immediately after breakfast we will have superhero training. I know it sounds stupid, but we can get some points for our cabin. Be nice to the little kids, let them have their fun. Any questions?”

Apparently nobody has any questions, so I offer to get stuff at the store if anybody wants something. They list candy and drinks. Pete jokingly says weed. So far my list includes some ointment for Pete’s rash, a hairbrush, three toothbrushes, four tubes of toothpaste, some eyeliner (I’m pretty sure Ryan already has some, not sure why he needs more), Redbull, Capri Suns, some Oreos, various chocolates and candy, a pair of flip-flops, preferably black or navy, size ten, a pack of medium sized boxers, some duct tape, a notepad/journal, and, for some reason, Cheez Whiz. Seriously, what the fuck are the gonna do with Cheez Whiz? That shit is gross. Anyways, they all chip in a bit of money and I promise to get as many snacks as I can. I refuse to get them a pack of beer (it’s not like I brought a fake ID to summer camp). I go take my medication, then get in the truck and head for the nearest Walmart (it’s cheap). Within fifteen minutes a thunderstorm has begun. So much for their rock climbing.

Pete’s PoV

Superhero training is actually stupider than it sounds. We get two points for actually trying, unlike everyone else, but all the other points go to the little kids. They doge various obstacles and try to avoid the ‘villains’ (counselors in masks). Eventually some kid tackles one of the counselors and that’s the end of it.

We head over to the whole rock climbing wall thing that’s actually really cool. Of course, I have to individually hook them all in and check the tightness and stuff. We spent a whole day last week going over how this stuff works. We’re just about to actually start climbing when we hear the rumble of thunder and the rain starts to pour down. You have got to be fucking kidding me.

Now I have to unhook all of them, getting soaked in the process, while they all run to the safety of the cabin the second I’m done. I unhook Brendon first and Ryan last, which pisses Ryan off, but I couldn’t care less. I unhook myself and walk back to the cabin. No point in running, I can’t get any wetter than I already am. Shit, I forgot to ask Mikey for a hairdryer. Never mind, I’ll just use his. Brendon wishes he’d brought a second towel, since his is wet. Spencer doesn’t actually have any, he’s been using Ryan’s all along. I only have one dry towel and I could sort of use it right now. I give Brendon one of Mikey’s and Spencer borrows on of Jon’s. I text Mikey to please buy three or four more towels. I think everyone should have at least three towels, but I can only request so much of Mikey, he only brought so much money. Everyone is chipping in, of course, but he can only spend as much cash as we’ve already given him.

Oh shit, the towels and bathing suits are still hung up to dry. I can’t seem to convince anyone else to help, so I have to get them on my own. Shit, they’re soaked. Perfect. I try to wring them out on the porch before hanging them up inside over the empty bunk. The boys are already just sitting around on their phones or reading a book. Well, fuck them. 

“Okay, we’re doing icebreakers,” I say. There’s like a collective, but silent groan throughout the room. It’s like you can feel it, but not hear it. Anyways, we’re required to at least do something, this isn’t a designated break or anything.

“Okay, why doesn’t everyone go around and say where they’re from and what grade they’re going into, plus one extra thing about themselves. I’ll start. So, I’m Pete, I’m from Chicago, and I play the bass. Oh, and I’m starting college next year.” Now I bet they’ll probably all tell me what instruments they play, but that’s actually what I want to hear, so it works. “Okay, Spencer, you go next.”

“Um, I’m Spencer from Las Vegas, I’m 15 and going into my Junior year, and I can play the drums.”

“Okay, cool, Ryan, you next.”

“I’m also from Vegas, I can play the guitar, and I’m going into my senior year.” He’s older than I thought he would be. I know seniors can go as campers, but they generally don’t. I guess he wanted to be with Spencer and that other kid who ended up in a different cabin.

“I’m Jon, I’m from Chicago as well,” he says, giving me a smile. I grin back at him. “I’m going into my senior year, and I also play bass.” Well, apparently I have a lot in common with Jon Walker.

“Um, I’m Brendon, I live in Las Vegas.” Seriously, that’s a lot of people from Vegas. Ryan seems rather shocked by this information. “I’m going into my junior year, and I can play guitar, as well as drums, bass, piano, and the trumpet. I’m not sure how good I am at the trumpet, though. I haven’t played it since middle school.”

“Do you know Brent?” Ryan asks. Isn’t that the kid in the other cabin?

“Yeah, I thought he was gonna be in my cabin, but I don’t really know how the requests work.”

“I think he got mixed up with me. All my friends are in his cabin,” says Jon. We really don’t know what happened, but that seems to be the general consensus.

“Oh, so that makes you the guy from his guitar class he was telling me and Ryan about. He said that you were pretty cool.” Spencer seems rather taken aback by this new development. I don’t blame him. Ryan is hiding his face in his bunk, but I would bet he’s pretty shocked.

Ryan’s PoV

Why the fuck couldn’t Brent have told us this on the first day. I’d just assumed his friend either hadn’t gotten here yet and would be coming later in the summer, or that he had decided not to go. I know I’ve been shit towards Brendon, and I doubt that would’ve happened with Brent in our cabin. Now I probably need to make it up to him or something. I bet Brent even told him about me and Spencer. He’s probably thinking something along the lines of ‘why is Brent friends with this asshole?’ or something. 

“Yeah, Brent said you would be coming, but he didn’t tell us too much about you.” I cringe inwardly at the awkwardness of my own sentence. I should’ve thought it through a bit more, rather than just spitting out my thoughts as they came along. “What I mean to say is that he didn’t tell us exactly who you were, so Spencer and I didn’t realize you were his friend. He should’ve said something on the first day, but he didn’t.” Maybe that clarified some things, but I doubt it.

“That’s okay, he was supposed to introduce me to his friends, but I’ve barely gotten a glimpse of him since I got here.” I actually feel bad for Brendon. I would’ve never been able to go to a camp without knowing at least one person in my bunk. I suppose people do it all the time, but probably not people staying an entire summer. One week with strangers is fine, but two months is a little more than I think I could handle. Well, Brent and Jon aren’t with their friends, but they’ve both been to camp before. I don’t think Brendon’s ever been to any summer camp before now, let alone this one. And why doesn’t Brent talk to him, Spencer and I generally run into Brent a couple of times a day, either at campfire or break, sometimes in the dining hall. I begin to wonder if maybe Brent’s a shitty friend. I mean, I’ve been worse to Brendon then he has, but I’m not the one who’s supposed to be Brendon’s friend.

“I brought my bass with me if you guys want to play it,” Pete says, motioning towards Jon and Brendon. Immediately Brendon almost bounces with anticipation as Pete gets the case to from under his bed. How all of his and Mikey’s stuff fits down there, I’ll never know. Well, they do actually have a tiny plastic dresser, unlike the rest of us, but it really is tiny. I doubt they can fit much more than some underwear and some t-shirts in there. Yet somehow Pete even has an amp. Now Pete’s showing off, and I gotta admit, he’s pretty good. Way better than Brent at least. 

Brendon’s equally as good. I’d had some sort of secret hope he’d be crap, but he’s not. Soon enough Jon was to join in the fun. I wish he’d brought a regular guitar so I could play. I try to tune them out, but they’re being just a bit TOO FUCKING LOUD for that. Seriously, if I thought the thunder was loud it’s like a whisper compared to this. They continue like this until lunch and I just lie here until I actually volunteer to do kitchen duty. I don’t even know whose turn it is, but I don’t think it’s mine.

Brendon’s PoV

Pete’s bass is sweet. Both he and Jon are pretty good. Everything’s great. We taught each other a few of our favorite songs, and Pete even showed us something he’d worked on with some friends. Apparently he’s sorta in a band, but there’s nothing official. He also told us how he'd bonded with Mikey last summer over the bass since he also plays. I think that’s cute. I wish I could get myself a musical boyfriend.

Running down to the dining hall in the rain is crap. My glasses make it impossible to see and I end up slipping in the mud. Jon helps me up, while Spencer and Pete keep running. By the time we get there everyone is completely soaked. Generally they make us wait a few minutes while everyone finishes getting ready inside, but they’re perfectly happy letting people in early today. I’m glad.

“What the fuck happened to your face?” asks Ryan when I sit down. I really wish he’d leave me alone. If he’s talking about the massive fucking cut that’s his fault. There’s a few bruises too, which are also sorta his fault. I might’ve been the one who poked myself in the eye, but…oh wait, he means my face is covered in mud. I tell him I slipped and he goes and gets a few damp paper towels, wiping it off for me. He’s actually being nice for a change. Is it because of the whole Brent thing. I didn’t even know Brent had other friends here; he’d just told me he’d been going for a few years. He also said it was a shit ton of fun, which I really haven’t seen so far. Then again, he also had said he’d lost his virginity here, so that may have had something to do with it. I barely even notice any of the other cabins, but that’s probably because I doubt anyone would even want to be friends with me, let alone have sex with me. I wish I had a better gaydar. Then again, I probably wouldn’t trust it. Sometimes Ryan or Jon seem pretty gay, but I just assume they’re straight and move on with my life. I know Spencer’s straight since I caught him making out with some girl this morning after the stupid superhero thing. 

After lunch we head over to arts and crafts. We all get some of the weird plastic lanyard stuff and start, well, I guess it’s weaving or something. Anyways, I start making the easiest thing they have, yet even that confuses me. Ryan’s making some ridiculous spiral thing and is incredibly good at it. I keep undoing and redoing my stupid bracelet, but I can’t figure it out. I think it’s called a turtle or something. I mean, if Ryan can do the dragon or whatever it is, then I can do this stupid thing. Ryan had been nice enough to start everyone’s stuff off since Pete didn’t know how. It’s supposed to be easy once it’s been started, but I don't see how. Eventually I ask Spencer for help since he’s doing the same thing and it’s turning out fine. I copy exactly what he’s doing, but somehow it still doesn’t work. I don’t even think I could get more frustrated than this. 

Apparently I’m annoying Ryan with my inability to do this, since he grabs it from me and finishes it in about two minutes. He gets a candle, burns the ends together, and hooks it around my wrist. Then he starts something new. It creates this sorta box shape and involves some pretty basic loops and stuff. Then he makes a point of showing me exactly how to do it and hands it to me, watching. I follow his instructions, and it works. He watches me for another minute or so before going back to his weirdly intense thing that involves like ten different strings. He’s only using two colors, how the fuck is he keeping track. By break time I’ve finished mine. It’s pretty long, Ryan asks if I want it as a necklace. I say sure. It’s a pretty weird necklace, but it goes with the whole summer camp vibe. Spencer just says it looks gay. Since pretty much everyone, boy or girl, in the entire camp makes these things, I really can’t see how it’s gay. It’s not like it’s rainbow or anything. Although maybe bright pink and a different, sparkly glow-in-the-dark pink don’t necessarily say straight either. But hey, Ryan chose the colors, not me. His own thing uses the same bright pink with a tiny bit of dark blue running through it. Maybe Ryan just likes pink, it’s not a crime.

I take a shower during break, eager to get rid of whatever caked on dirt is still on my skin. While I’m at it I decide to jack off. I’m not thinking of anyone in particular, but it might be Ryan. I try not to think about him, but it’s hard. I can’t afford to like Ryan. He’s already made it clear he doesn’t even like me as a friend, and having feelings for him would just make shit worse.

It’s my turn for kitchen duty. Jon comes with me, and we talk about Green Day the whole time. It sorta takes my mind off the fact that the dinner for tonight is steak, which I want nothing to do with. I know I should other people make their own decisions, but it breaks my heart that people slaughter animals just so they can eat food they think is fancy or tastes good. Seriously, eat some plants, at least they don’t have a brain or emotions or anything. One time I’d been forced to shoot at a bunny, which of course I was horrible at, and so I only wounded it. I had to hear it cry out in pain. I couldn’t even kill it, someone else had to. To this day I still feel it was the worst thing I’ve ever done. I’ve been a vegetarian ever since. Why can’t other people respect life. You wouldn’t kill a human baby, no matter what they tasted like, so why do things like lamb and veal exist. Apparently it’s because they ‘taste good.’ That’s shit, and everyone should know that. I’m not a vegan or anything, but I don’t believe in killing animals. I can stand eating eggs; it’s not like they were ever gonna become chicks because they’re unfertilized. I also consume dairy products. I don’t really think they’re harming an animal by taking it’s milk. I’ll never understand what it’s like to be milked, so maybe I shouldn’t assume, but it’s not like they’ll be permanently scarred from it or anything. I do refuse to use products I know were tested on animals. That’s just unfair. I’d almost like to stop taking my medication since I’m pretty sure it was tested on rats or something, but my mom said no when I’d asked her. Well, apparently Green Day isn’t enough to keep me from thinking about that. Now I want to cry, and to everyone else it’ll look like I don’t even have a reason.

“Are you okay?” asks Jon. Great, he noticed. I tell him I’m fine. He looks a little skeptical, but I tell him my face sorta hurts from everything that happened on Monday. He believes that. I ask him if we should’ve dressed up like something and he says the villain of our superhero. In the movie there was Frances, but it would be sorta hard to dress up like him. There’s probably other people in the comics, but I don’t know any of them. This one isn’t for points, so I guess it doesn’t matter. We talk about Deadpool until everyone else gets here.

Pete is dressed up as someone I’m pretty sure. At least, his outfit is rather strange. He’s wearing a slightly dirty suit and a top hat complete with some zombie makeup and a fake beard. Actually, he looks a bit like Abraham Lincoln. Of course, Ryan decided to be Angel Dust, complete with a set of rather large fake boobs, a wig he got from who knows where, and quite a bit of eyeliner. Spencer didn't bother changing his clothes, and he actually seems rather annoyed at Ryan. Some of the girls find Ryan’s outfit hilarious, while the guys are just making fun of him. I’d make fun of him, except I’m gay and for some reason find this attractive. I’m not attracted to the fake boobs, but that eyeliner looks amazing on him. How is that good, I tried my sister’s eyeliner once when I was twelve and it was absolutely hideous. I couldn’t get it off, either, and she had to help me. She spent like twenty minutes laughing at me. It was humiliating and successfully turned me off makeup for a while. I did look good yesterday, though. 

So apparently Pete is Abraham Lincoln. He tries to explain how some cloning gone wrong ends up with Deadpool fighting him, but it just doesn’t make sense. Pete even admits he forgot like half of the story, but it’s still sorta funny. Then he chastises Ryan for not being Lady Death, but none of us know who that is. Of course, that just annoys Pete even further until he just eats his steak refusing to talk to us. 

We were supposed to have an outdoor game for tonight, but now we’re doing trivia instead since it’s ridiculously muddy. They do it jeopardy style, and the winning team for each age group gets 25 points. We win by a mile, but mostly because Pete, who isn’t really supposed to help, keeps texting Mikey and his brother, who apparently know a lot about comics. Since pretty much nobody else has a clue, he actually has enough time to text them. Pete claims we didn’t really cheat because we never used google. I still feel that Mikey’s brother was an unfair advantage, but we might’ve even won without it. The other cabins got maybe one or two questions, but we knew at least a few more than that without help. I might not know anything about Deadpool, but I’m still a complete and total nerd. Most of the questions were rather basic, but not all of them were in the movies. Yeah, I definitely know way too much about Spiderman.

Snack bar is boring as ever with their lack of anything caffeinated or overly sugary. I get some cookies and cream something ice cream sandwich. It’s literally just off brand Oreos. Ryan drags me over to talk to Brent. Mostly I just stand there as they talk about various things until the conversation becomes about me. Ryan’s pissed he didn’t say anything. Spencer’s also standing there silently eating his ice cream. Brent then apologizes to me for his asshole friend before walking away, leaving Ryan very angry. Great, now I’ll probably be the subject of his anger. Honestly, right now I can’t tell who’s a bigger asshole, Ryan or Brent.

Ryan rants to Spencer about how ignorant Brent is, saying he should have told them I have problems. Wait, what problems? I have absolutely no idea what Ryan is talking about, but I don’t even want to know. Since it rained we’re gonna skip the campfire tonight. Probably for the best. I still haven’t learned those damn songs. I head back, trying to forget how Ryan thinks I have issues. I mean, if it’s the gay thing I don’t even think Brent knew. What if they told him? What if he tells the whole camp? Goddamn it, I’m so screwed. 

I’m freaking out. I might actually be having an anxiety attack. I feel shaky and slightly nauseous, as though I’m sick. I sink down onto one of the lower bunks on the verge of tears. I have no chance of friendship here. My entire cabin hates me. Soon the whole camp will hate me. Brent never even cared enough to talk to me, and now he’ll probably never talk to me again. Even after I get back, my life will still be over. He’ll tell the entire school. My breathing quickens and becomes shallow. Suddenly, I feel as though some giant weight is crashing down on me. Someone just grabbed me. I think they’re trying to suffocate me. I can’t here what they’re saying, but it’s probably threats. I try to listen. It’s almost…comforting? That’s when I realize it’s Pete. I just let myself cry into his arms until I feel strangely empty inside. That’s when I start to feel a bit better. Pete smiles at me, somewhat sadly, before going back to his own bunk.

I realize the entire cabin is staring at me, which doesn’t help. I start to feel a bit dizzy again. This time Ryan comes down off his bunk. When he nears me I flinch, and he stops for a second. Then he reaches out and grips my hands in his own. It’s almost as though he’s anchoring me to the ground. He tells me to look at him, so I do. It’s uncomfortable looking into his eyes, but I see they are filled with concern. As I do this, I begin to feel more stable. The room stays still. Ryan helps me stand up and get into my bunk. I dislike feeling reliant on him; I still don’t trust him. I decide to just lay down and go to sleep, regardless of the time or what anyone else is doing. It’s been a confusing day, and I need to rest.

Ryan’s PoV

I think Brendon just had a panic attack. I used to get those sometimes, generally during the school year. I still do, just infrequently due to my medication. I’ve never really seen anyone else go through it. I know it’s worse being on the receiving end, but I honestly feel bad for Spencer having to see me go through that. Brendon had been shaking and crying, pretty much just looking like he was falling to pieces. He just looked really young and innocent. I already knew he was innocent, too innocent. From what Brent tells me he’s a hyperactive oddball from a Mormon family. He gets bullied and has ADHD. He didn’t say anything about his sexuality, so maybe Brendon isn’t generally as forthcoming as he was to all of us. Honestly, I feel like crap. I probably either caused this, or at least contributed to it. I’ll try to be nice to him from now on, honestly, it’s just that something about him makes it difficult. Maybe it’s the ADHD. I knew a kid with that in grade school, and he literally got on the nerves of every single person. At first no one could stand it, but we all got used to it in time. I’ve only known him for about three days. That’s nothing. In the grand scheme-

My thoughts are interrupted by the arrival of Mikey. He’s about to announce ‘I’m home’ or something, when Pete shushes him and points to Brendon’s sleeping figure. Mikey hands something, which looks like lotion, to Pete, then proceeds to stock the refrigerator. I’m about to tell him Cheez Whiz and Oreos don’t need to be in the fridge when I remember we’re not supposed to have food and this is how we hide it. It also keeps the insects out. He puts out the various clothes and towels he got, as well as some condoms and lube. He mouthes something to Pete, who laughs silently. Mikey shuts off the lights. I just lie in bed thinking about Brendon until it somehow turns into dreams, and then, suddenly, I’m fucking him.


	5. Day 5

Ryan’s PoV

It’s about 5 am and I just woke up with a raging boner because of my stupid dream. I don’t even like Brendon, plus dreaming about him like that after last night is wrong on so many levels. I want to do something about my problem, but I can’t because of the stupid cabin. Sure, everyone’s asleep, but it’s still weird. From where I am I can see everyone except for Spencer, and I know they would be able to see me if they woke up. I could go to the bathroom, but I’m too lazy to get up right now. The restrooms aren’t all that close anyways. I get out my phone and play a random cooking game I downloaded in the airport on the way here. It’s stupid and boring, but also not at the same time. I manage to beat level 27 by the time Pete’s alarm goes off.

Everyone else is waking up to the sound of the SpongeBob theme tune. This is honestly the worst one yet. Someone needs to stop Pete. He can’t keep doing this. I can hear groans from all around; the only person smiling is Pete. Mikey takes a swipe at the back of his head as he gets up. Pete throws his dirty underwear from the day before at Mikey’s face. I feel like I’m about to witness some sort of war. Never mind, Mikey just laid back down, giving up. Pete’s laughing and getting everyone out of bed except for Brendon, who is curled up into a pale ball. Pete tells him he can sleep for a bit longer.

I get up, make my bed, and stuff all my and Spencer’s crap into our suitcases. We’ve already combined all of our shit together. We’re probably gonna regret this eventually, but for now it’s just easier. I also pack up Brendon’s stuff. I just now realized he slept in his clothes. I shouldn’t have let him do that, those skinny jeans probably weren’t the most comfortable. I know I’ll most likely regret this later, but I grab a Redbull for Brendon. Brent said to never let him get his hands on anything caffeinated, but I think he needs it this morning. I open it up before passing it to him.

He takes a sip, then proceeds to down the whole bottle in about five gulps. Yeah, this was definitely a horrible idea. “I’m gonna regret giving that to you, aren’t I,” I joke. He gives me a slight smile before nodding vigorously. I laugh and head over to Spencer.

“Did you seriously just give a kid with ADHD a Redbull?” Clearly I did. “What were you thinking?” I don’t even know. I just wanted to make sure he was okay. He’s the one wanted the Redbulls anyway. 

“Are you coming?” Spencer asks, almost out the door. I shake my head. He can do kitchen duty on his own. Or with Jon, who ends up following him instead. Generally I would feel jealous, but for some reason I don’t even care. By now Brendon’s gotten up and is helping Mikey straighten up while Pete is going over today’s schedule. I rearrange some things on the shelves and straighten the suitcases. Then we all head over to lunch with everyone else. Brendon is actually skipping. Yeah, giving him a Redbull was definitely a bad idea.

Brendon’s PoV

I’d always wanted to try Redbull, but my parents would never let me. Basically anything with caffeine or too much sugar was kept as far away from me as possible. I love sugar and caffeine, they’re literally my two favorite things. This is awesome. I feel great. I’m completely awake and ready to start the new day.

I tell Ryan how I’m generally not allowed caffeine or sugar, and he replies with “I wonder why.” Well, it’s his fault, he gave it to me. I’m glad he did. Really, this is awesome. Pete seems wary of me for some reason, but when I grin at him he still smiles back. Mikey is basically attached to him. They seem to have such a perfect relationship, why can’t I have a boyfriend like that? 

I know I’m literally bouncing around outside the dining hall, but I can’t stop. I just don’t have it in me.I try to climb a tree, but Mikey won’t let me. Apparently it’s dangerous or something. I wanted to climb the tree. I almost climb Ryan instead until I remember that’s a surefire way to piss him off. Instead I chase around the little kids until they open the doors. I catch this one little girl, she’s probably about six, and tickle her until she squirms out of my reach. By the time we get in for breakfast I’m both panting and laughing.

“Looks like you’re a bit hyper this morning,” Jon acknowledges.

“Yep,” I respond, popping the p. I grab a glass of orange juice and some of the french toast. It’s delicious. I wish my mom had more time to make breakfast in the morning before school. Breakfast is the second best meal of the day, after desert. I get a slightly disturbed look from Ryan when I quite literally drown my breakfast in syrup. I grin back at him. I’m grinning at everyone this morning. From now on Thursdays are for grins.

“When we get back to the cabin I’m dumping out the rest of the Redbull,” Ryan says. I frown at him. That’s mean. Let me have my Redbull.

“No, you’re not,” I tell him. “I’ll drink it all before you do.”

“You’d explode, or your brain would melt. You’d probably have a heart attack and die. Just stick to the Capri Suns.” Wait, there are Capri Suns? I want them. I hope they have the cherry kind, that one’s the best.

“Is it cherry?” I ask.

` “I think so,” says Mikey. “I also got a fruit punch one.” I don’t really like the fruit punch ones. They’re okay, but they’re not as good as the cherry. Either way, I grin back at him. Pete smiles at me. I think he likes it that I’m grinning. Well, I guess he’s sorta getting paid to keep me happy, so I think that makes sense.

“We have ATV this morning. We were supposed to have it tomorrow, but I switched it because tomorrow’s my day off. This is one of my favorite things. So there’s this trail along the camp that we follow. There’s only three at this camp, but since there’s only six of us that works out perfectly. In the afternoon we have kayaking, but I’ll get into that later. First we have some superhero themed archery, and we can only have one person compete. I volunteered Ryan, so the rest of us need to go and cheer him on.” Ryan doesn’t seem too happy about this, but Pete’s right. He is the best. 

I’m about to forget my medication, but Spencer reminds me. I take it, but I don’t want to. It’s stupid. I would’ve thrown it away, but the nurse was looking right at me, so I couldn’t. 

I change into some jeans. It’s cloudy and not too hot, so I should be fine. I decide to put on a pink tank top, which is literally the gayest shirt I own. I don’t even care anymore. So what if people know I’m gay, I’m not ashamed of it or anything. I keep on my bracelet and necklace, too. Ryan seems to think my outfit is funny, but I’m not the one with a secret collection of hidden scarves. He thinks no one knows his little secret, but I do. He’s also wearing a lilac shirt. It looks great on him. I tell him that, and he blushes scarlet. 

We come in second, only getting fifteen points, but that’s because this one guy cheated. When he thought no one was looking he handed his friend an arrow, and the next thing you know he ‘apparently’ shot a bullseye. Only thing is, no one saw him shoot it. Yeah, we should’ve won. At least we got the ten points during breakfast. Well, that’s what Pete says, I wasn’t paying attention.

Pete’s PoV

Time to probably watch a bunch of kids stupidly crash into a tree. I’m supposed to make sure that doesn’t happen, but I really doubt any of them have one clue what they’re doing. I’m taking Mikey. Last year he proved that he has no clue what to do, and I don’t trust any of the kids with him. He’s fragile and needs to be treated with respect. I’m also pretty sure Brendon is fragile. They might all be fragile. Even Ryan showed a soft side last night. Maybe there’s something going on between him and Brendon. I bet it has something to do with that Brent kid.

I don’t know if a license is necessary to operate one of these things, so I assume it’s not. I tell them to pair up. Spencer decides he wants to go with Jon, which puts Brendon with Ryan. Ryan seems slightly annoyed by this, but then again Brendon has been slightly annoying all day. Redbull and Brendon is a match made in hell, but it’s better than a mopey angsty Brendon at least. It’s only fair, too, since Ryan is the one who gave it to him. Brendon’s acting like a little puppy right now. I know he’s annoying, but I swear to God if Ryan kicks him we’re gonna have a problem. So far he’s just rolling his eyes.

I buckle everyone up since these things are impossible. I start to head out on the trail. No one is following for some reason. Shit, I forgot to explain how these things work. I yell out some instructions and suddenly Jon and Spencer are barreling down the trail. Well shit, that’s too fast. I yell after them, but they don’t hear me. I quickly tell Ryan and Brendon not to go anywhere before I chase them down. Luckily, they’re stopped at the break in the trail and not overturned by some tree. I yell at Jon for being stupid before returning to the other two. Brendon’s talking non stop about some ice cream place in Vegas, but it seems Ryan is enduring fine for now. The caffeine will probably wear off soon. I tell Ryan to go slowly, not exceeding 35 mph, and to stay behind me. He follows. I’m grateful at least someone can listen to directions. I’m also glad it’s not Brendon driving. Maybe I should get Spencer and Jon to switch, maybe that would help.

We go through the long way once, I point out the yellow stripes we need to follow. Don’t follow the blue and all that or else you’ll be gone all day. There are probably seven or eight different possible routes, and I’ve done three of them. Green is the basic short, yellow is the basic long, blue is the longest and a full day excursion, there’s also a pink one which goes to some campground or something, and there are some unmarked ones which probably have trees down in the middle of them or something. No one’s used any of those for years. I think Ray tried to last year and got stuck in a ditch or something. Mikey and I tried the blue last week. It was nice to be alone. We had a fun picnic, but it really did take several hours. Well, it would’ve, if we didn’t get lost repeatedly. It wasn’t very well labeled, so it took us a total of thirteen hours from the time we left until we got back.

I know the yellow one pretty well. It takes a bit over an hour to make the loop. I would let them get out for a rest, but unbuckling these things is too much of an effort. I toss them a few water bottles. Most miss, but in the end everyone gets one. Then we do the green, which takes about twenty minutes. We have enough time for one more green before break. Brendon insists on switching with Ryan, so I help them out. Spencer doesn’t care so he just lets Jon drive. I’m glad, these stupid seatbelts are literally the worst things ever. Honestly, I think they were manufactured by Satan. 

Within five minutes Brendon is being ridiculously reckless, but I couldn’t care enough to stop him. Clearly the caffeine hasn’t quite worked it out of his system. Zigzagging down a narrow trail at 50 mph is pretty dangerous, and it’s clear Ryan thinks so. Mikey says that I should make them stop, but it’s sorta funny. A collection of “Brendon, NO,” “FUCKING STOP,” and, “IF YOU DON’T SLOW THE FUCK DOWN WE ARE GOING TO FUCKING DIE” reaches my ears, as well as maniacal laughter from Brendon. When I finally get them out Ryan looks a bit green and he’s glaring at Brendon, who seems quite pleased with himself. Ryan slaps Spencer for going with Jon, but Spencer just laughs at him. Ryan just gets more and more disgruntled as everyone laughs at him.Then he angrily stalks back to the cabin as we practically roll on the ground with laughter.

Spencer’s PoV

Hey, I told him this would happen, but did he listen to me? No. Serves him right. Besides, Jon was even worse than Brendon, I just didn’t think he would crash. Brendon was probably only doing it to hear Ryan scream. I don’t blame him, Ryan always screams like a little girl. I don’t even bother following him until we all head back. The sun is finally coming out. I could go to the pool, but 45 minutes isn’t quite long enough. Besides, we have kayaking later, that always involves getting wet.

When we get back to the cabin Brendon goes straight fro the Redbull, but Mikey takes it away, giving him a Capri Sun instead. That’s probably a good idea. He heads up to his bunk to read something. Ryan already has his earbuds in. I decide to sit with Jon for a while talking about the differences between Chicago and Vegas. They’re both big cities, but they’re famous for completely different things. One has alcohol, the other gambling, truthfully, I think they belong together. What’s the point in drinking without having some deep dish pizza to go along with it? When he gets up to do kitchen duty I go with him. He went with me for breakfast, it’s only fair. Lunch is pretty easy to get ready for since most of the stuff is on another table in the center. All you really need to grab is some pitchers of water and ‘bug juice’ (currently Sierra Mist (wait, I think they changed the name, but I forget what to)), some silverware, some cups, and some plates. The worst part about kitchen duty during lunch is sweeping, since everyone always manages to get half their salads on the floor. We sit there talking until the doors open. 

Ryan refuses to talk to anyone during lunch, which is fine by me. Brendon’s face is slightly sunburned, and he seems pretty tired. Mikey and Pete discuss various things that are probably none of my business. I actually think it’s just Pete badly flirting until Mikey blushes. Honestly, they think they’re discreet, they’re really not. We all know why Mikey bought condoms and lube.

They give us some really crumbly slices of cake for desert. We’re all basically falling asleep. Generally I find the nap time slightly ridiculous, but I think it might come in handy today. I feel fine myself, but Brendon, Ryan, and Mikey in particular seem to be falling asleep on their plates. 

When it’s time to clean up I stay behind with Jon. Ryan actually dropped his entire salad on the floor. I know he’s tired, but he could’ve tried to be careful. He doesn’t even like salad. Honestly, I can’t figure out why he even got it in the first place. From the window I can see Pete giving Mikey a piggyback ride. If there was any doubt about their relationship from before, it’s gone now. Brendon is tripping over his own feet. Ryan is walking slower than that old lady who lives across the street from him. Jon and I finish up. When we get back into the cabin Pete is forcing Brendon to rub aloe on his face, and Ryan is lying on his bunk with his eyes half closed. I think Mikey’s texting someone. Jon and I sit on my bunk, talking quietly so as not to disturb Brendon and Ryan. I’m pretty sure they’re both sleeping.

Jon’s PoV

Spencer’s a nice guy. He’s pretty funny, and he’s helpful. I’m actually fine with pretty much everyone in this cabin. I like how it’s small; I’ve never even had a week with less than six other campers. Generally there’s seven, eight including myself. Yeah, I like spending time with my friends, but there’s nothing new to talk about with them. I actually feel like I share more in common with these guys. They all have similar tastes in music, which is great. Ryan and Spencer play the same video games as me, also great. Ryan’s a bit moody and Brendon’s just weird, but I’m fine with that. The only thing that could make this summer better would be some weed.

At a certain point we end up talking about the girls at camp. They’re fine. I don’t particularly like any of them, but they’re okay. I had a girlfriend for most of the summer last year. She’s a counselor this year, and apparently we can’t do anything because of the rules. I think that’s stupid, but she wasn’t budging. Spencer’s never had a girlfriend. I can see why. Nothing against him, but most girls I know go for looks first and personality second. It’s not like he’s ugly, but he wouldn’t be on a magazine. At least not at this moment. He’s 15, he hasn’t finished going through puberty. Mostly girls probably wouldn’t go for him because he doesn’t look mature enough. He’s smart and funny. I think he deserves a nice girlfriend. I bet in a year he’ll be like super hot, so that everyone who turned him down regrets everything. He’s the sorta guy who would totally rock facial hair, but isn’t quite mature enough to grow it. And okay, maybe a haircut would help. Personally I think guys look great with long hair, but girls seem to like that stupid fuckboy haircut. I’ve had my hair long at times, too. It’s not too long right now, but I wouldn't exactly say it’s short. At least not by guy standards. If we’re talking girl standards everyone here has short hair. Mine is probably the shortest in the entire cabin. Mikey and Pete have emo haircuts, Ryan’s and Brendon’s are a bit past what would be collar length, and Spencer pretty much has what I would consider a lob (long bob). It’s about shoulder length. 

“What’re you thinking about?” asked Spencer. I’ve probably been staring off into space for about five minutes.

“Haircuts,” I answer honestly.

“What, is mine too long?” he asks jokingly.

“No, it’s fine. I was just thinking about how I’m generally the guy with the longer hair, but mine’s the shortest in the cabin.” Spencer just laughs at this.

“Well, by the end of the summer we’ll all have really really long hair.”

“Yeah, that’s for sure.”

Soon after that Pete wakes up Brendon, Ryan, and Mikey. They all express their deepest desires to stay asleep, but Pete isn’t having it. Once again he becomes the applier of sunscreen. Brendon squeals at the coolness, but Pete is relentless. Soon we are all cowering under the spray of icy death. Well, not really, but that shit’s cold. Brendon drinks another Redbull. Nobody stops him even though we all want to.

Ryan’s PoV

I literally never take naps and have a ridiculous amount of trouble sleeping at night, but the one time I actually fall asleep easily someone has to wake me up way to soon. Fuck this. I don’t want to kayak, I want to take a canoe to a very special place called Dreamtown. I was having a pretty great dream, too, but now I can’t even remember it.

The sun is shining, and I wish to go back inside. I feel like one of those angsty teenagers on tumblr. Wait, I am one of those angsty teenagers on tumblr. We walk down to the lake, and it takes five minutes. Those are five minutes I could have been sleeping. Maybe Should force Spencer to carry me places. It would make life so much easier.

Everyone else takes the single person kayaks before Brendon and I get there, so we’re forced to share. It’s really not fair. Seriously, why can’t Pete and Mikey share or something? Then again, Brendon’s wide awake from the caffeine, maybe he can just do all the work. If I get to relax then I’m fine with it. Pete explains that the person in front set the speed and the person in the back steers. The person who is stronger should go in the back. Brendon’s about to fight me on it, but I tell him to go to the back. I’m feeling lazy; I don’t care right now. However, I really don’t like the whole ‘work together you will capsize thing.’ I just want to sleep. I make sure to send that message loud and clear with an over exaggerated yawn. I see Spencer roll his eyes at me. I retaliate by flipping him off. Yes, this is what friendship looks like.

Pete gets us started in the water. I wish I’d changed into my swim trunks like everyone else. Kayaking inevitably always ends with falling in the water, which is one of the reasons why I didn’t bring my cellphone. I quickly realize Brendon’s never done this before, since he has no clue how to steer. That’s just great. I try to explain that he needs to paddle on the opposite side of the one he wants to go towards, but for some reason he can’t fucking get it. No matter what I say he just acts more and more confused. I turn around, and he’s just sitting there trying to concentrate and failing abysmally with his steering.

We’re actually gonna capsize now, and it’s entirely Brendon’s fault. If I have to get wet, he has to go in first. I push him out of the boat as the whole thing capsizes. I get stuck under, but Brendon grabs me. He actually thanks me for pushing him out. Great, I accidentally helped him. Now I realize why he couldn’t fucking steer; he doesn’t have his glasses.

“Where are your glasses, dummy? I think they might’ve helped.”

“Shit! I was wearing them, but now I don’t have them.” Oh crap, he’s actually lost his glasses. We need to find them. They’re probably at the bottom. I think it’s about eight feet deep here, but the water’s too dark to see the bottom. I try to unbuckle my lifejacket that Pete insisted all of us wear, but I can’t in the water. Luckily, Pete is coming to help us out.

When he gets here I say, “Brendon lost his glasses.” Pete grabs a pair of goggles he randomly had in his kayak and throws them to me. He helps me get the lifejacket off. Then he gets Brendon to swim with the kayak back to the shore. No point in Brendon looking, since he can’t see anything. I go down a few times, but I don’t see anything. Pete swims out to help me look. Mikey, Spencer, and Jon all join, and eventually Brendon, even though he can’t see. To be honest, no one can see at the bottom. Even I can’t and I’m wearing the goggles. Jon suddenly claims he felt something that might’ve been glasses with his foot, but we all go over to where he is and find nothing. We spread out further and further, finding nothing. Finally, using the goggles, I see the red frames floating by. I grab them, and tell the others I found them. We go back to shore since nobody feels like doing much of anything anymore.

I dry off Brendon’s glasses carefully with someone’s dry t-shirt, and then I place them on his face. He engulfs me in a hug, saying, “Thanks Ryan, you’re my hero.” I don’t know if that’s supposed to be a pun based on this week’s theme, if he’s over exaggerating, or if he really means it. I hug him back awkwardly. I don’t mention how it might also be my fault he lost them in the first place. I’m really glad we found them, two months of not being able to see would suck. I honestly don’t know if I’ve ever been more appreciative of my perfect vision.

“You need contacts,” I tell him.

“My mom won’t let me get contacts,” he says. “She tells me they’re too much responsibly for me.”

“You’re going into your junior year of high school. You’re what, like sixteen? I think you’re ready for contacts.”

“My parents think I wouldn’t keep them clean or something and end up with an eye infection.” True, that sounds like something Brendon would do, but I also think that I’ve been underestimating him. His parents probably have, too.

I start building a sandcastle, trying to make it clear to the others I am done with the water for today. They all seem to agree. We work together for the next hour or so to make some massive thing with a moat and towers. I bet some little kids will knock it down tomorrow, but for right now we have an epic sandcastle. Pete makes some really big cursive letters that say ‘Cabin 41,’ and we all sign our names under it.

I decide to take a shower before dinner. As much as I’d like to just get dry and stay dry, I feel dirty. Plus, the only time I get to be truly alone is in the shower. Here I can deal with that problem that plagued me during the wee hours of the morning. I can also ponder why I dreamt of Brendon that way. Maybe I actually like him. I haven’t really given that much thought, generally I dismiss it, but maybe I really do. If I do, what do I do about it. He’s gay, I could have a chance. Do I want to take a chance? Right now I just want to masturbate to the thought of him naked, so I do. I tell myself I’ll think about it tomorrow.

Brendon’s PoV

I’m really glad Ryan got my glasses. If I didn’t have them all summer I don’t know what I’d do. Well, first of all, my parents would probably kill me for being so stupid. I have these stupid straps that are supposed to hold them on, but I never bothered to use them. I really should. After I finish with my shower (because everyone else was taking one) I go back to the cabin to get ready for dinner. They couldn’t come up with a good costume idea for tonight, so everyone is just wearing whatever. It’s my turn to get ready for dinner again tonight, and Ryan is nice enough to go with me. He also tells me my face is pink. Well, I can’t control the sun, and frankly I don’t even give a damn about the weather. It’s summer camp, I’m pretty sure sunburn is inevitable.

Dinner tonight is chicken tenders and fries. Why do they have to keep pushing the meat? Ryan keeps stealing them, even though we’re not supposed to eat yet. I steal a few fries. They’re fries, who could possibly resist? Ryan tries to stick one of the chicken tenders in my mouth, but I resist. I don’t even want that anywhere near my mouth, let alone in it. Go eat your murdered animals on your own, leave me out of it.

“What’s wrong, don’t like me feeding you?”

“Not chicken.”

“Why? What’s wrong with chicken? It’s delicious.” Ryan eats the piece of chicken I wouldn’t while making ‘mmm’ sounds, as if to prove his point.

“I’m a vegetarian.” I thought everyone knew this. I guess only Pete and Mikey. Did I tell anyone else? Did I even tell them? I can’t even remember.

“Oh,” he says, immediately stuffing a handful of fries in my mouth. I choke on them at first, finally swallowing them down with a glass of Kool Aid. I glare at him while he laughs at me.

“You know what, I don’t like you feeding me.”

“I’m sorry. Give me another chance. I’ll spend the whole day tomorrow hand-feeding you grapes.”

“That does sound tempting, but only if you fan me.” When did I become friends with Ryan? I thought he hated me. Shit, we forgot to get the silverware. I grab it quickly, since they’re already starting to open the doors. I decide to sit next to Ryan because why not.

Dinner is actually fine tonight since I’m allowed to just load up on fries. When we do get to desert Ryan actually does feed me a pudding cup. It’s slightly embarrassing since he makes stupid airplane noises and the rest of table laughs, but a cute boy is feeding me pudding. I’m pretty sure there’s some saying about not biting the hand that feeds you. Of course, petting me on the head afterwards while saying ‘good boy’ is a little more than I wanted. I nip at his hand, which just makes everyone laugh harder. Whatever.

We play a stupid game of basketball, which isn’t even superhero themed. We lose horribly, gaining no points. At this point I’m not even sure we could get enough points to win. They literally just hand out to the little kids for stuff like sitting quietly for five minutes. Hey, that’s an achievement for me. At the snack bar I buy some Skittles (it’s very gay) and Ryan gets some Sour Patch Kids, which he proceeds to feed me out of his hand. I even lick the sour dust or whatever it is off his hand. He tastes like soap. At least he doesn’t taste like chicken. Then he steals out half my Skittles, but I guess it’s fair. At the campfire tonight I actually get a good s’more for once. The marshmallow is perfectly gooey, and someone accidentally gave me two slabs of chocolate. I’m finally learning some of the songs, too. Like there’s this one about a stinky skunk which I pretty much know and another about a bird with a weird name. I’m not sure if I can quite remember the name, but I know every other part.

After campfire we go back to the bunk. Ryan secretly braids Spencer’s hair while he texts someone. I have no clue how Spencer didn’t notice earlier, but now he’s got Ryan pinned down and is tickling him mercilessly. Ryan begs me to help him, but when I try Spencer just gets me too.

“Spence…please,” I wheeze. He won’t relent no matter how hard Ryan and I beg. Jon joins in and it just becomes too much. My sides feel pained as their fingers did into them. Why can’t I just stop laughing. Eventually they let me squirm away. I collapse on to Spencer’s bed, exhausted, with Ryan on top of me. We refuse to get up, making Spencer wait. Well, it’s his own fault. His hair is still braided.

Jon makes the mistake of saying, “You know, if you put a flower in your hair it would look great with that braid.” Suddenly Spencer’s attacking him. Pete tells us we have to get into our own beds now, since for everyone else it’s already lights out.

We plead with our eyes, but he says, “Hey, I’m not the bad guy here. I’d happily let you guys tackle each other all night, but there are rules. If I don’t at least somewhat oblige to the rules, I get fired. If I get fired you guys will get stuck with someone ten times worse than me. So who wants me to keep my job?” The answer is unanimous, we all climb back into bed. I turn off the lights, trying to sleep, but I can’t. I feel like someone is staring at me. I can’t see who, since everyone else appears to either be asleep or on their phone. I try to ignore the feeling and sleep. Somehow works its way into my dreams. I dream about being followed down the trail. I’m in the unmarked territory without a vehicle. Someone is close behind me, but I can’t see them. I just know they’re there. They’re getting closer and closer, but I still can’t see them. Suddenly I can feel their breath on my neck. I can feel their lips on my neck. There’s no biting, but instead a kiss. It’s gentle, careful, cautious. It’s loving. I wake with a start. It’s not even midnight. I go back to sleep, completely forgetting the dream altogether.


	6. Day 6

Mikey’s PoV

Is there a fucking reason why Pete chose “Thrift Shop” as the alarm? I seriously doubt it. I would refuse to talk to him all morning, but there’s no point since he’s leaving after breakfast. Today is gonna really suck. At least there’s only four kids I’m responsible for. They aren’t really kids if they’re the same age as me. With that logic I’m a kid. Well, I guess I’m not really an adult. Pete has only been an adult for a week; I wonder what it’s like. It probably sucks. I’ll be an adult in less than three months. I mostly haven’t thought about it, and now I just want to forget about it. 

Well, I guess it’s time to get up and deal with my responsibilities. I stop Brendon from getting any Redbull. Clearly buying Redbull was a mistake. I do let him eat a chocolate bar; it’s not like I’m trying to be mean. I hide the fridge so whoever checks doesn’t realize we have it. I really don’t know what they’d even do, but Pete and I would probably get fired.

It’s Ryan’s turn to do breakfast. He takes Spencer. Brendon and Jon help Pete and I finish cleaning the cabin. Pete grabs his wallet and keys. I’m gonna miss him today, especially in the afternoon. On Fridays we have free afternoons to prepare for whatever we’re gonna do at the banquet. Generally it’s a skit or song for whatever the theme is. Today we’ll probably act out something from Deadpool.

We go down to breakfast. I hold onto Pete’s hand, not caring who sees. We’re a bit early to breakfast and have to wait awhile before they let us in. During this time I discuss what I have to do today with Pete.

“It’s okay, you just have to walk around with a camera and a nature book spouting off random facts. That’s literally all there is to nature and photography.”

“But what about in the afternoon?” We have to prepare that skit thing. We’re not prepared at all, plus the movie is on your phone. We need costumes and lines. We can’t do it without you.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m sure everything will work out fine. Even if we don’t win this week, there’s always next week.”

“You’re off every Friday. That’s your day off every week.”

“Next week we’ll plan it out beforehand. However, this week is still gonna be fine.” He leans in to kiss me, but I push him away. We’re not even supposed to have relationships with the female counsellors, let alone the guys. As much as I’d like to not give a fuck, I sorta have to. It sucks.

Finally the damn door opens. Everyone rushes in for some cinnamon rolls. Honestly, that has to be the best meal there is here. I know there’s that whole banquet thing tonight, but nothing beats cinnamon rolls. Why can’t they just have these every single day?

“I should've made you these instead of pancakes,” notes Pete as I devour my fourth. Technically I’m not supposed to have more than two, but I can’t resist. They gave our table too many anyways.

“Yeah, you should’ve.” No point in lying. These definitely beat Pete’s pancakes, but not by too much. Those pancakes were made with love; the only thing these cinnamon rolls have going for them is the sugar. I smear my sticky hands over Pete’s pouting face. He licks off as much as he can reach like a dog. Quickly, hoping no one sees, I lick the rest off his nose.

“Great, now I’m all sticky. You know, I worked hard on those pancakes.”

“I know. They were delicious. I loved them. I also love cinnamon rolls. I can love more than one thing, you know.”

“Well, I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Awwwwwwwe.” It’s Jon. He definitely noticed our little exchange there.

“Shut up,” I tell him. Brendon, Ryan, and Spencer are looking confused. I guess they didn’t notice. Not for long though, I’m sure Jon will tell them soon enough.

“What’re we doing this morning?” asks Brendon.

“You guys are photographing nature. If I find any nudes on those cameras when I get back I will be very disappointed. Unless they’re of any of the girls, in which are I will be impressed.”

“PETE!”

“Sorry Mikey, but you gotta admit, that would be impressive.” I ignore him.

“If there are any nudes on those cameras there will be consequences,” I tell them. Considering each camper brought their own camera technically there could already be nudes on them. I wouldn’t actually do anything about it even if they took them here. I just don’t want anyone else to hear about this. I’d also prefer if my boyfriend didn’t go looking through everyone’s cameras finding pictures of naked women. Also, pretty much everyone here is a minor, so taking those pictures would be illegal. Then again, that stupid picture of Pete Brendon found on my iPod was taken when he was seventeen. I mean, it’s still illegal, but I’m the one who kept the illegal picture on my iPod.

Breakfast is over, which means time for meds. It also means time to say goodbye to Pete. I walk over to the truck with him just so I can give him one last kiss before he goes. It ends up being more than just a kiss, but I do stop him from shoving his hands down my pants. We don’t have quite enough time for that.

The oldest boys have a paintball fight this morning. This only includes cabins with boys going into their junior and senior years, since apparently it would be too dangerous for sophomores or something. They give all of them some protective vests and helmets. Basically, the rules say aim for the chest, headshots don’t count. There are only two teams, heroes and villains. We’re on the villains side. Our cabin does horribly on its own, but they still win thirty points for being on the winning team.

Oh great, now I have to take all the boys to the stupid creek so they can take some pictures of crawfish or something. Of course, none of their cameras are waterproof. At least they all brought them. I’m gonna have to borrow Pete’s since I forgot my own. I love how they require everyone to bring those really big, expensive looking cameras. Half of them always end up broken before the end of the summer. One year Gerard actually broke two in the course of a single summer, although he claims that someone else broke his camera the second time.

Within five minutes Brendon has already fallen into the creek. I actually think he tripped this time. Ryan has been pretty nice to him for the last couple of days. I try to tell them about the trees and shit, but I can barely remember any of the crap I learned. Spencer grabs a few leaves to press in a book, so at least something is gonna come out of this.

“Ow! Shit, that hurt!” I have no idea what happened to Jon, but clearly I am not responsible enough to be in charge of these guys. He shows me his ankle. Luckily it’s only a small cut. He probably got pinched by one of the larger crawfish.

“Okay, from now on stay out of the creek.” As soon as I say it Brendon falls back in, hitting his head on a rock this time. At least he gets up immediately, seeming only a little dizzy.

“You’re gonna break your glasses, Brendon. You need to be more careful.” At least this seems to resonate a bit more with him. Now, of course, I realize that I’ve lost Ryan. Seriously, what the fuck, can’t these guys just fucking behave for five goddamn fucking minutes. Clearly the answer is no. It only takes thirty seconds to find him. He’d wandered off to photograph a moth or something. 

“Here’s an idea: let’s all just stay right here and take a couple of random stupid pictures. Please try not to die.”

“Here’s an idea: calm the fuck down Mikey. Pete will be back in a few hours. Everything will be fine.” Last time I checked I was in charge, not Jon Walker, but I let it slide. I let the boy pull their stupid stunts jumping from rocks and trying to climb trees. I let them take the pictures that would incriminate them. I let Spencer twist his ankle on a rock. I make Ryan get him an ice pack while I sit and watch Brendon attempt to climb a tree. At least Jon spots him. Surprisingly, he doesn’t fall, but he’s ridiculously hesitant to come down. Eventually Ryan pushes him, causing him to fall into Jon. Jon catches him. 

“What’d you do that for?”

“If I hadn’t pushed you, you’d actually just wait up in that tree until you starved to death.” Ryan actually has a point. 

“New rule, if you’re not prepared to climb down a tree, then you're not allowed to climb up it.” Brendon seems pissed, but I think it’s a pretty fair rule. “And on that note, it’s time for break.” Finally. I need a break. I don’t actually get a break, but I doubt they’re gonna break their necks while texting someone from a seated position. Who knows though, Jon, Brendon, and Ryan all have top bunks. They could easily fall.

Man, I need to calm the fuck down. I decide to use my break to text Pete. He tells me to calm down repeatedly. He also offers to com back early. I tell him no. He deserves his day off. Anyone who can deal with these guys deserves a day off. Then again, technically they should all be old enough to take care of themselves. Although I’m not entirely sure I can even take care of myself. I certainly can’t take care of myself and four others at the same time.

Spencer and Ryan go prepare lunch. It’s always pizza on Fridays. It’s sorta crappy pizza, but at least it’s pizza. After lunch we have nap and then the free time to prepare our little skit or whatever. I can do this. I can make it through the day. I can’t believe how much I suddenly hate Fridays. Only two weeks ago Friday was the best thing ever. I can’t believe I was in school only two weeks ago, it feels like months. Soon I’ll have to start working on all those stupid assignments I got for over the summer. Why did I decide to take those AP classes?

 

We head down to lunch. At least the pizza tastes good. It could be better, but it isn’t as bad as the kind at my school. I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out my school’s pizzas were made with rat poisoning. They’re so bad most kids won’t eat it. You know when teenagers won’t eat a pizza, then there is clearly something wrong with it. Something very, very wrong.

The second we get back to the cabin I take full advantage of the nap time. I don’t care if a fire starts or anyone dies, no one is gonna wake me up. Besides, I think the other boys are sleeping anyways. By about Friday of the first week everyone starts to take advantage of nap time.

Pete’s PoV

I got all the stuff they could possibly need. Wigs, costumes, makeup, and other shit. When I get back to the cabin Mikey is asleep, and all the other boys are being quiet. I want to thank them, but I also don’t wanna talk in case he wakes up. Technically nap time is over, but we still have ages. I let him sleep for another fifteen minutes before he looks down groggily at everyone.

“Why didn’t you wake me?”

“You looked too cute.”

“What’re you doing here Pete? It’s your day off.”

“Yes, I know it’s my day off, which is why I used my day off to get us costumes for our little skit.” I open up my bag and show them all the stuff I got. Then I get everyone to gather around my phone so that we can watch the ending of Deadpool and decide how to portray it in a PG bordering on PG-13 manner. The only problem with choosing an R rated movie is how to not scar the little kids for life. This is actually gonna be more difficult than I thought. It works best with either three or six people, and I wasn’t intending on being in it myself. Also, I’m pretty sure we’re not supposed to portray any actual deaths. I doubt that’s possible, so I guess we’ll just have to make them less gruesome.

“Okay, six characters: Deadpool, Francis/Ajax, Vanessa, Angel Dust, Colossus, and Negasonic Teenage Warhead. I’m Colossus and Mikey is Negasonic Teenage Warhead.”

“What, why?” asks Mikey.

“Because I said so. Also, I got the costume in your size.” Technically the costume could probably fit anyone here, but these were the two characters I wasn’t originally intending on using. I got the costumes just in case. The Colossus costume is rather crap, but I guess it doesn’t matter. The Deadpool costume is the best, since I actually rented it for a day from a costume place. Personally, I feel that was $50 well spent.

“How much money did you even spend?” asks Mikey. Oh, great, now he’s gonna be pissed.

“My mom sent me a $500 gift card to Walmart yesterday. I spent like $150, and not all of it was on costumes. Oh, and I rented the Deadpool thing for like $50. It doesn’t matter, I’m still making more than I’m spending. I didn’t come here for money either.”

“That’s too much.” Okay, maybe Mikey has a point. I don’t care.

“Hey, I probably won’t need to spend money on stuff for the other weeks. I just wanted to have fun with this.” Yeah, even if we win it’s only DQ, and we probably won’t even win, but I just want to have some fun. Plus, I get to keep most of the costumes for future use.

After a bit of arguing Jon is Ajax, Ryan is Vanessa, and Brendon is Deadpool since he’s the only one that fits into the costume, which is a bit smaller than I had realized. Spencer doesn’t want to be Angel Dust, but eventually Ryan convinces him.

Jon and Brendon decide to take showers while Ryan does Spencer’s makeup, which mostly consists of drawing on boobs. First, he tries to make it look like Spencer has boobs with duct tape, then he puts the padded bra on him, and then he continues to try to shade or something. Is it contour? I really don’t have a clue what he’s doing, but it involves making Spencer look like a woman. He jokes about how Spencer barely even needs the wig. Then he applies his own (slightly smaller) boobs and makeup. By the time Brendon and Jon show up again, both of the boys look like women.

“Ryan, you should be a drag queen, I think it’s your calling,” Jon jokes. Everyone laughs and Ryan blushes scarlet (behind the blush he’s already wearing). We practice the skit for the next few hours before the banquet begins. Some people (mostly the girls) actually dressed nicely, although most of them are characters. It actually feels a bit like comic con.

Brendon’s PoV

The other campers have told me about the banquets before. Apparently some people dress up nicely and take dates, while others wear ridiculous costumes. Nobody in our cabin has a date, although apparently Jon would’ve. I think Spencer asked some girl, but she turned him down. The same girl then asked Jon, who said no because he didn’t want to go with someone who had said no to his friend. If I’d asked someone and they’d said no, none of my friends would've cared, but I think it’s nice that Jon does.

I don’t exactly understand why they have this fancy banquet at a summer camp. Does anyone really want to eat chicken and mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables? Well, I suppose people like Boston Market, so I guess they do. I’d rather have some of the leftover pizza from lunch. I eat some of the vegetables (admittedly, the mashed potatoes are okay), but I avoid the gravy. I never trust gravy. Also, Pete threatened me with death if I get anything on this costume. Spencer already got a ton of crumbs in his ‘boobs.’ Honestly, how do girls deal with those things? I feel bad for them.

Pete tells us that we already have 134 points. We only need 16 points to win, and since every team that does a skit gets at least 25 points, we can’t not win. Mikey reprimands Pete a bit more for renting the stupid costume that I’m currently wearing. It is a bit stupid, I have to admit. I mean, it’s a great costume, but why waste fifty bucks?

We watch all the kids do their presentations of various styles. The little kids are simply adorable. Up until a certain age group everyone is awarded fifty points no matter what, even the little girls with a Haiku that doesn't even have the correct number of syllables. These little kids that did absolutely amazing with this awesomely adorable Avengers thing got 100 points, but they still ended up crying because they still didn’t have enough points for Dairy Queen. I felt pretty bad for them.

Finally, it was our turn. It starts off with me, Pete, and Mikey facing Jon, Ryan (he’s handcuffed and Jon’s holding onto him), and Spencer. Jon drags Ryan off the ‘stage’ and I follow, while Pete and Mikey fight Spencer. Basically Spencer tries to strangle Pete and then Mikey tackles them, managing to get Spencer off of Pete. They roll of stage, and I chase Jon, who’s dragging Ryan, back onto the stage.

“You can’t get away with this, Francis!” There really should just be a lot of swear words, but we can’t do that.

Ryan yells, “Wade?!” This would be a great time to wink, but I can’t because of the mask.

“I’m comin’ for ya, baby.” Then I sorta wrestle Jon to the ground. I pull Ryan into a very awkward hug while pulling off the mask. We were gonna do horror makeup, but Mikey thought it would scare the little kids. It probably would’ve. We get forty points, not too bad. Looks like we’ll be going to Dairy Queen tomorrow afternoon.

Everyone eats a delicious desert of chocolate cake and celebrates the end of the week. Pete keeps complaining about his poison ivy, since it apparently keeps getting worse, and Mikey tells him to shut up about a hundred times. We have campfire and eat too many s’mores. There’s clearly an ongoing joke about “more s’mores” that I am not aware of. I don’t really care; I’m just glad I finally know most of the songs they’re singing. Ryan, Spencer, and I talk with Brent for a while, before going back to the cabin. Apparently on the last day there is no rule about what time lights out is, but we’re all content on our own devices anyways. I watch a few buffering YouTube videos before giving up and deciding just to continue my rereading of Harry Potter. I’m in the middle of Nearly Headless Nick’s deathday party. I decide to go to bed after Mrs. Norris gets petrified.

I have a rather strange dream. Ryan is Vanessa, and I must save him from Francis. The only problem is that I’m still me. I’m just normal Brendon, not Wade Wilson. I can’t save Ryan because I can’t do anything. I get shot, and then I’m down. However, Ryan/Vanessa manages to get away. He saves me. Ryan carries me to safety and treats my wound. He tells me how he love me. He tells me how he doesn’t care about the past, just as long as Im with him now. He’s about to kiss me, but the dream changes into another one. This dream is about Shrek, and it makes absolutely no sense. It’s probably the only one I’ll remember come morning.


	7. Day 7

Spencer’s PoV

Pete’s alarm wakes me up. It really shouldn’t, considering today is Saturday, but it does. Even during our fucking free day he has to screw with us. Also, why is it “Wrecking Ball?” What is up with his weird song choices? Why does he do this to us?

“Pete, it’s Saturday. Seriously, cut it with the stupid alarm shit.” Mikey has a really good point.

“Hey, it’s already nine. I let you guys sleep in,” Pete says, trying to defend himself. Everyone else just groans.

I’m about to go back to bed, when Pete starts passing out the pop tarts he bought yesterday. Everyone chooses the regular strawberry, except for Brendon. The kid doesn’t need the sugar, but he’s not letting anyone prevent him from devouring two packages of s’mores pop tarts.

I climb up into Ryan’s bunk. Sometimes I feel left out being the only one with a bottom bunk. There’s another top bunk, but these three bunks are all close together, and that one isn’t. I probably should’ve taken the bunk Brendon has now when I’d had the chance, but that most likely would’ve lead to Brendon being left out even more.

We all hang around in our bunks munching on junk food and discussing Toy Story for the next hour or so. For most of the conversation I was trying to figure out how it started, until I saw Brendon’s Toy Story blanket. Stereotypically, we should all be making fun of him for it, but instead we argue over whether or not Andy made the right decision in giving his toys away. Brendon says he did the right thing, but everyone else disagrees (Except for Jon, who says it doesn’t matter because it was only the very end of the third film. He thinks that if we don’t like the ending we should just pause it before the end and pretend it never happens. I tell him that’s ridiculous, since it is still part of the movie.)

Pete’s just getting out his cowboy hat when almost the entire cabin gets called for their medications. I’m surprised they even waited until ten. Maybe they didn’t, but nobody responded the first few times.

Since nobody else is here, I climb over to Jon’s bunk. I almost end up falling off of Brendon’s, but Jon helps pull me into his. So now I’m lying on top of him, breathing heavily.

“Thanks man,” I say shakily. It wasn’t like I would’ve gotten anything more than a bruise if I had fallen, but for some reason it freaked me out. When I was little my parents had always warned me of the dangers of falling out of bunkbeds. I guess it stuck.

I’m not entirely sure why I climbed into Jon’s bed. I can’t really think of anything to talk about. God, this is awkward. I can feel him staring at me.

“Soooooo…how’s camp so far?” he asks me, very awkwardly. Great, this is awkward. Very awkward. The only word I can think of right now is awkward. Also, relatable. If I post this on tumblr everyone would probably say ‘same.’

“Good, how about you?” I cringe internally at the immense awkwardness I am feeling.

“Yeah, it’s pretty good.” If this gets any more awkward I might just have to kill myself…

Ryan, Brendon, Pete, and Mikey all walk in at that exact moment. Pete teases us about them “interrupting a moment,” but I honestly don’t care. I’m just relieved there are no more awkward silences. There’s an awkward laugh, but nothing else.

Ryan suggests we all move onto the floor, which seems like a good idea. That way we can all sit in a circle rather than at varying distances in various bunks. Of course, he and Brendon steal my sleeping bag and pillow (to sit on since the concrete floor is always freezing) before Jon and I can even move. I walk over to them and steal his.

“Hey!”

“You took mine first.” Ryan made a grumpy face, but didn’t respond (except by punching my pillow).

“Hey, Mikey and I are gonna go do some counsellor stuff. You boys have fun with your satanic rituals or whatever it is your doing,” Pete announces. He quickly grabs Mikey’s hand and drags him out the door.

“Twenty bucks they’re fucking,” says Jon.

“No deal, we all know they are,” Ryan responds.

“I caught them making out behind a tree a few days ago,” adds Brendon.

“They’re definitely having sex. The better question is where they’re going,” I say. I know people do it all the time here, but I still don’t have a clue how. A cabin you know will be empty for a while seems to be the best bet, or a shower, but there really aren’t any empty bunks right now. Well, there are the ones no one has used this year, but too many people use them to either have sex, drink, or smoke in for them to use it (assuming they didn’t want to be caught and outted).

“Maybe Pete’s truck,” Jon suggests. Could be.

“As long as it’s not in the poison ivy infested woods, I don’t think it matters.” Ryan clearly doesn’t care. I agree with him about the poison ivy thing, I think we’re all tired of Pete complaining about his itchy back.

“I brought Cards Against Humanity. We could play that,” Jon suggests. Ryan and I instantly agree, but Brendon just looks confused.

“I think my brother played that game once and got in a lot of trouble. What’s it about?” Brendon is actually so clueless it’s almost funny.

“It’s like the adult version of Apples to Apples,” Jon explains.

“But isn’t Apples to Apples the adult version of Apples to Apples Jr.?” Ryan laughs at Brendon, causing him to pout, which causes me and Jon to laugh at him too.

“It’s an R rated Apples to Apples,” Ryan tells Brendon, still sniggering. “It’s like Spiderman is Apples to Apples and Deadpool is Cards Against Humanity.”

The only thing Brendon can say to this is “Oh.” We’re probably gonna ruin his childhood with this. I suggest playing truth or dare instead. Brendon agrees easily. Let’s destroy his innocence slowly, instead of all at once.

Ryan’s PoV

I wanted to play Cards Against Humanity, but I guess no one cares. This is definitely gonna be a mistake, since I know all of Spencer’s secrets he’d rather no one else know. He never chooses dare, so I know I’ll be forcing him to spill the beans.

“Truth or dare?” Jon asks Spencer, who for once chooses dare. I’ve never seen him choose dare before. Is he trying to impress Jon? Maybe.

“I dare you to find the nearest girl and ask her out.” I doubt he’ll actually do it.

“I’m guessing Ryan doesn’t count.”

“Hey!” That was out of line. Seriously. And of course Jon has to respond by saying how I would count, but Spencer’s out of my league. More like I’m out of his league. Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with them. And Brendon’s just sitting there, laughing his ass off. Whatever, I don’t care. Although I do tell Spencer that I’d say no. Because I would. He’s not my type.

We all follow Spencer to the door, waiting to see what’ll happen. The only girls outside are about twelve. Spencer absolutely refuses to go up to them, so Jon makes him go to their counsellor. Shockingly, he actually does. She turns him down, and tells us off. She knows exactly what we’re doing and tells us to keep it inside the cabin. I think she’s expecting us to go streaking through the camp next or something. It’s not actually a bad idea, but I’m pretty sure we’d be skinned alive by this counsellor.

“Brendon, truth or dare?” Brendon has a deer in the headlights look, but he recovers quickly enough.

“Uh, truth.”

“Who in this cabin do you find most attractive?” Brendon gulps, unwilling to answer Spencer’s question. It actually sounds more like a question he’d ask me. I’d probably say Jon, even though the answer is actually Brendon. I’d never be able to deal with the teasing.

After about five minutes of awkward silence Brendon mumbles an answer no one can hear. Spencer asks him to repeat it, and he says “Ryan” while blushing scarlet.

“Hey, I’m good looking, there’s nothing wrong with admitting it,” I tell Spencer and Jon before they can start to tease Brendon. I doubt he actually likes me. He finds me most attractive when compared to Spencer and Jon, which really doesn’t say all that much. I mean, neither of them are ugly, but he really didn’t have many people to choose from.

Brendon asks Jon next, who chooses dare. Brendon dares him to go through Pete and Mikey’s stuff until he finds something embarrassing. Within a minute he’s found a butt plug with a tail in Mikey’s backpack. If there was any uncertainty as to whether or not Mikey is gay it’s definitely gone now.

“Truth or dare?” It’s my turn now. I know Jon probably has a million embarrassing ideas, yet I still choose dare.

“I dare you to play gay chicken with Brendon.” Wow. Okay. Not what I was expecting. He immediately looks towards Brendon, expecting him to make the first move. Instead, Brendon is perfectly still. Spencer’s looking at me, knowing I’m not gonna back down. Well, at least not immediately. Considering it’s Brendon, I probably won’t at all. Which might end up with us doing who knows what, but I think I’m okay with that.

I move towards Brendon, looking him right in the eyes. He looks down at the floor. Maybe he’s embarrassed to do this in front of Jon and Spencer. He already said he found me attractive, shouldn’t he be clawing my shirt off right now while shoving his tongue down my throat? Maybe he doesn’t know what we’re doing. (I don’t really know either, I think we’re supposed to make out or something until someone chickens out.) I smirk at him, but he still refuses to look at me.

Without hesitation I grab his head, threading my hands through his hair, and pull him towards me, closing my eyes. Our lips collide, but his don’t move against mine. They don’t fight me either, and I slowly coax them open with my tongue. I manage to slip my tongue inside, swiping along his teeth. I can taste the Redbull he thinks nobody noticed him drinking. I’m starting to feel the need for air, so I pull back. Brendon’s eyes are still closed, his lips swollen and slightly parted, hair a mess, and breathless. He’s beautiful.

I start to reach under his shirt, intending to remove it and continue making out, but he shoves my hands away. He looks almost scared for a second, but then he turns and quickly climbs up his bunk. He lays on his side, facing away from us. I haven’t moved a muscle since he pushed me away. I slowly let the look of shock fade off my face as it turns to worry. I don’t know what I did wrong, but clearly I hurt Brendon.

I climb up onto his bunk. His face is hidden in his pillow. He’s shaking slightly. I crawl towards him, but he just turns away from me again.

“Bren, what’s wrong?” I ask him as gently as possible. He doesn’t respond. I put my hand on his shoulder, trying to be comforting, but he flinches. I pull my hand away as quickly as if it burned.

“Brendon, I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable. It was just a game, only a stupid dare, I didn’t mean to upset you.” I really wish he’d just look up at me with a goofy grin, but he doesn’t say a word. I think he might be crying.

“Bren, please forgive me. I’m sorry I didn’t stop earlier. I’m really, really sorry.” I’m almost pleading with him at this point. I don’t want him to be mad at me; I don’t want to hurt his feelings. I know I’d been cruel to him earlier, but I’m done with that now. Finally, he turns around to face me.

He hadn’t been crying, but his face was still red. He seems upset and embarrassed, and all I want to do is cuddle and hug him. I know I can’t, but I’d love to. Clearly I’ve had a massive crush on him the whole time and that kiss just made it a hundred times worse. Damn me and my stupid feelings.

“Hey, what’s wrong? Bren, tell me if there’s anything I can do, please.” Well, for starters, I can stop calling him Bren since it’ll probably make the whole thing worse. Secondly, I can get off his bunk and go away forever.

“It’’s nothing, it’s just me being stupid. Sorry,” he says in a small, broken voice. It breaks my heart.

“It’s okay, Brendon. Whatever it is, it’s not stupid. I promise it’s not your fault. Please tell me what I did wrong. Please let me make it up to you.”

“You’ll laugh.” Nothing he says right now could make me laugh. Absolutely nothing. There’s about a million things he could say to make me cry, but not one thing he could say right now could make me laugh.

“I promise I won’t laugh.” I cross my heart for good measure. If he wants me to I’ll even pinky swear.

“It’s just that, um, that was, uh,” he stops, embarrassed.

“It’s okay. You can tell me anything.”

“That was my, uh, that was my first k-kiss.” When I thought he was innocent before, I’d never realized quite how innocent. Now I almost feel glad that I was his first kiss. I stop myself, though. Nothing that upsets Brendon this much should make me feel happy in any way. His first kiss should’ve been his decision. It should've been on his terms, but now I’ve taken that away from him.

“I’m sorry,” I tell him truthfully.

“Don’t be, I’m just being stupid.”

“No, you’re not. Your first kiss should’ve been your decision, not me trying to shove my tongue down your throat. I’m truly sorry that you didn’t have a say in this like you deserved. I shouldn’t have done the stupid dare, that’s on me.” I feel like a horrible person, taking something away from someone without their permission. Almost anyone else would tell me this is stupid, it’s not like I took his virginity or something, but a first kiss is still a meaningful thing. Well, it really wasn’t to me, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t to Brendon. He’s a Mormon, he’s grown up a different way, I don’t know what means something to him and what doesn’t.

“Uh, thanks. I’m sorry for freaking out.”

“Don’t be. Why don’t we all go grab some lunch, it’s about time to.” I actually have no idea what time it is, but lunch time is a reasonable guess.

I realize we’re all still wearing pajamas, so we get dressed. I wear a pair of tight skinny jeans (they’re actually girls) and a tank top. Trying to impress Brendon right now is probably both stupid a bit cruel, but I can’t help myself.

Brendon’s PoV

I really am a fucking idiot. Seriously, why couldn’t I just kiss Ryan back and enjoy it. He’s cute, I think I like him, so why did I have to freak out like that? What the fuck is wrong with me? Why is a straight guy more comfortable making out with me than I am with him? Unless maybe Ryan isn’t straight. Don’t be stupid, of course he’s straight. Honestly, how many gay guys do you think could possibly be in a cabin. There’s already me, Pete, and Mikey, I don’t think there could possibly be any more.

Ryan nicely makes me a sandwich. He even remembers I’m a vegetarian an gets me peanut butter and jelly. I thank him. While I eat my sandwich I fantasize about other ways the kiss could’ve ended. What if I’d taken control. Maybe Ryan would've loved it. If I’d have let him take off my shirt, would it have led to something more? Guess I’ll never know since I’m a fucking moron.

After lunch Ryan offers me a piggyback ride, which I decline. Yet another stupid decision by me. I rationalize by telling myself that Ryan is way to thin to possibly be able to support my weight. Then again, I’m pretty sure Pete gave Mikey one, and Pete is significantly smaller than Mikey (at least in height). I walk back to the cabin, trailing behind the others.

“I’m sorry if my dare made you uncomfortable,” Jon tells me.

“It’s okay.” I want to add how it’s just me being a stupid idiot, but I don’t. I have no idea how Jon would react, but I know Ryan would flip.

I decide to watch a YouTube video when I get back, but I can’t because I’d need Pete’s phone for the data. Instead I continue rereading Harry Potter. I finish Chamber of Secrets, but I’m feeling too lazy to get Prisoner of Azkaban out of my suitcase. Instead I lay on my bed looking at the ceiling. The effects of the Redbull I drank earlier are wearing off, so now I’m actually feeling rather pooped. I decide to take a nap, and next thing I know Pete is shaking me awake for dinner.

I can see the smile on his face, and judging by the way Mikey is walking, Jon could’ve been twenty bucks richer if someone had been stupid enough to agree to his bet.

Pete’s PoV

Today was fucking awesome (fucking being the key word). Mikey and I had taken one of the ATVs down the blue trail until we reached the secret little treehouse that we’d found last year. It already had a cot in it, so we’d brought a mattress there last year. It was still there, so we just took our extra sheets and sleeping bag, plus a few other items, and spent the whole day having sex. I had had to convince Mikey yesterday, which took some doing, but I managed.

I got the campers to he dining hall where we feasted on junk food, as was the Saturday tradition. Brendon inhaled about seven bowls of pudding before Mikey finally said enough. I gave him some gummy bears when Mikey wasn’t looking. Mikey also gave me a dirty look when I polished off an entire full sized bag of Cheetos. Hey, I gotta eat.

Technically we should’ve gone to DQ today, but I hadn’t felt like taking them (I had other things to do). Instead I’m gonna take them tomorrow. I got permission since there are no new campers in our cabin for the coming week.

After our dinner of various unhealthy foods, we all head back to the cabin. Everyone is wide awake after eating a shitload of sugar. I want to tell them a scary story to keep them up even longer, but Mikey tells me that would be cruel and unnecessary.

One by one they drop off to sleep. First Jon, followed by Spencer, and eventually Ryan. Brendon takes a while, probably due to his nap earlier. I think Mikey was actually the first to fall asleep, but I don’t know because he’s above me. When I finally fall asleep I know Brendon is still wide awake, but I’m too tired to tell him to go to bed.


End file.
